Do You Love Me?
by swimmergal06
Summary: What happened if Luke and Lorelai had talked during the Fiddler on the Roof?
1. Confessions and accidents

**Okay, so this is m first try at an episode spinoff. Everyone was so great with my first story, so I hope that you'll all be just as supportive for this one! I will still write the sequel for Surprises Everywhere, but I was watching season five today and got a brainwave. I figured I might as well start this while it was fresh.**

Luke looked over at Lorelai when the song was over and was surprised to see that she had tears streaming down her face. His heart broke as he realized that he was the reason she was so upset. He desperately wanted to take her in his arms and comfort her, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Just as he was about to turn to her, Luke felt a soft, familiar hand close over his.

"Did you love me?" Lorelai asked as soon as their eyes met. "I mean, I know you don't anymore, but I need to know…did you?"

Luke stared at her. He opened his mouth to speak, but Lorelai pulled him into the hallway. "I'm sorry, I just want to talk about this in private," she said. "I just want to know because it might help me deal with this better."

Luke wanted to take Lorelai in his arms and tell her that there was nothing more that he wanted to do than take her in his arms and never let her go. But he swallowed his pride and said, "Yes."

Lorelai choked on her tears and turned away from him, not wanting Luke to see her so upset. She started to walk away, but Luke grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him.

"I answered the question for you," Luke said, not letting go of Lorelai's arm. "Now I want your answer to the same question. Do you love me?"

Lorelai swallowed hard, trying hard not to cry in front of Luke. "Yes," she said so softly that he wondered if she'd even spoken.

"Even now?" Luke whispered, trying hard to control the emotions that were running wild inside of him.

"Yes," Lorelai replied. "I'm sorry, okay? I know that we're not even together anymore, and it's stupid, because there's no reason for me to keep loving you. But I can't stop." She seemed to realize what she'd said, and a panicked look came across her face. "I have to go."

She started to leave, but Luke grabbed her arm and held her in front of him. "Lorelai," he said. "I still love you too."

Tears spilled down Lorelai's face and she shook her head. "Don't do this, Luke," she whispered. "Don't make this any harder than it has to be."

"Why?" Luke asked. "Why does this have to be hard if we both love each other?"

Lorelai shook her head. "I can't, Luke," she whispered. Before Luke could say anything else, she was gone and he was left standing alone in the elementary school hallway.

As soon as Lorelai rounded to corner, she slumped against the wall and couldn't help the sobs that started. She buried her face in her hands for a few moments before she took a deep breath and started to walk out to the parking lot. She got into the jeep, but when she saw Luke's truck parked right next to the Jeep, she burst into tears again. She knew that there was no way that she could drive when she was this upset, but she had to get away from this. She quickly dried her eyes and pulled out of the parking lot, heading towards the inn.

Luke left the school just in time to see Lorelai's jeep drive off. He cursed himself and rushed to his truck, wanting to talk to her before he lost his nerve. He drove quickly to Lorelai's house, hoping that he would be able to catch her there. When he could see that her jeep wasn't in the driveway, he turned the truck around and began speeding towards the Dragonfly.

When he reached the entrance to the Dragonfly, he saw Lorelai getting out of her jeep, tears streaming down her face. He pressed the gas without bothering to look to see if there were any cars coming.

Lorelai was just entering the lobby of the Dragonfly when she heard the screeching of tires and the crashing of metal. She instinctively turned to see what had happened, and when she recognized Luke's green truck, she suddenly felt sick to her stomach. She was paralyzed for a moment before she took off towards the car, fearing the worst.

When she reached the driver's side of the truck, she felt immediate relief to see that Luke's chest was still moving up and down, but he wasn't awake. "Luke," she cried. "Luke, please wake up! Luke!"

She began to sob as she realized that Luke wasn't going to wake up right away. She collapsed onto the ground next to the truck, her face buried in her hands. She didn't know how long she was out there before she heard an ambulance coming closer and arms wrapping around her.

"Luke," she cried. "He can't leave me."

She was drawn to her feet and recognized Sookie's voice as she whispered soothing words in her ear.

"I have to go with him," Lorelai said, pushing out of Sookie's arms just as they were loading Luke into the ambulance. "I have to go," she screamed.

"Who are you?" one of the attendants asked.

"His girlfriend," Lorelai replied.

"All right, come on," the attendant replied.

Lorelai climbed into the backseat of the ambulance, and her eyes teared up again when she saw Luke's limp body stretched out in the middle of the ambulance. She knew enough not to get in the way of the EMTs, but she needed Luke to know that she was there. She reached out and placed a gentle hand on Luke's shoulder, then moved her fingers to run gently through his hair. She leaned down and whispered in his ear, "Luke, it's me. I'm here, you have to wake up for me."

As they raced toward the hospital, Lorelai noticed that Luke's eyes were fluttering open. "Luke," Lorelai whispered. "Luke, can you hear me?"

"Lore…lai…" Luke's voice was soft and barely audible, but Lorelai could tell that he was trying to make sure that she was there.

"I'm here," she whispered, smoothing his hair back from his face. "I'm here, baby."

Luke's eyes fluttered closed again, but Lorelai refused to think that he was really asleep. "Luke," she whispered. "Luke, please wake up."

Luke's eyes stayed closed, and Lorelai pressed a hand to her mouth, trying to stifle her sobs. A moment later, they pulled up in front of the hospital and Lorelai watched as they pulled Luke's stretcher out of the ambulance. She followed them into the Emergency Room, but a nurse stopped her when they reached a door that read "Authorized Personal Only."

As she sank into a hard plastic waiting chair, Lorelai buried her face in her hands and finally allowed the tears that she'd been trying to hold back come to her. She sobbed harder than she ever had, and a moment later a voice said next to her, "Are you okay?"

Lorelai looked up and saw a nurse standing before her with a box of tissues and a kind look on her face. She sighed and smiled slightly as the woman sat down next to her and offered her a tissue.

"My name's Olivia," she said softly. "Was that your husband they just brought in?"

Lorelai shook her head. "No," she said. "He's my boyfriend. Well, my ex-boyfriend, but that wasn't by choice."

Olivia nodded. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked gently. "It might be good to talk to someone and it'll make the time go by."

Over the next hour, Lorelai told Olivia almost everything about her complicated relationship with Luke, how they'd gotten together, then broken up, and how miserable she was without him. She explained about the play and what had happened there, then how she'd witnessed the car accident and how terrified she'd been.

Olivia listened patiently, letting Lorelai release all her emotions. She'dbeen a nurse for a long time, and she had seen many people broken up by the admittance of their loved ones into the hospital.

"I told him that he was making it too hard," Lorelai said. "When he told me that he loved me and said that we should be together if we both love each other, I told him I didn't want it. That's not true, I do want it, I do want him. I want him so badly it aches."

Before Olivia could answer, Lorelai looked up and saw Rory walk into the waiting room. "Rory!" she cried.

"Mom!" Rory looked at her mother's tear stained face and ran to hug her. "What happened?"

"Luke was in a car accident," Lorelai said. "I came with him. But how did you know?"

"Sookie called me," Rory replied. "Mom, what happened? Did you and Luke get back together?"

"It was horrible," Lorelai said softly. "Rory, we were at the play and there was this song. This song that was just repeating over and over again, and I asked Luke, and he said he loved me. I told him that I loved him, but we couldn't be together. I left and he must have followed me, because I heard the crash and it was awful."

Rory knew that her mother wasn't talking coherantly, and she knew that she had to get the rest of the story later. For now she knew the basics of what had happened, and she had to keep her mother sane.

When Lorelai turned back to the waiting area, Olivia stood and smiled at them. "Rory, this is Olivia. She's a nurse and she's spent her break time listening to me talk to my crazy relationship with Luke. Olivia, this is my daugher Rory."

Rory smiled at Olivia weakly. "Thank you for watching out for my mother," she said. "I'm glad that she had someone."

"I was glad to help," Olivia replied. "I'm going to go check and see if there's been any progress."

Lorelai felt her knees go weak as she thought about what she might soon find out about Luke and she sank to a nearby chair. Rory sat down next to her and silently prayd that Luke was okay for more reasons than one.

Before Olivia came back, a doctor still in scrubs came through the door. "Is there someone here for Luke Danes?" she asked.

Rory stood and turned to help Lorelai stay steady. "This is my mother," she said. "She's Luke's girlfriend."

The doctor nodded. "Please come with me," she said.

Lorelai felt her heart stop beating, suddenly sure that Luke was dead. Why else wouldn't the doctor tell inform them of Luke's condition in the waiting room?

On shaky legs, she and Rory followed the doctor, trying to be brave about what she was about to find out.

Next chapter: Lorelai and Rory find out about Luke's condition


	2. Waking up

**Thanks for all the reviews! Sorry for the cliffhanger, but I'm trying to make this story a little more suspenseful than my last one. And just for those of you who were wondering, I will never ever kill off Luke, Lorelai, or any other of the major characters, because what would the point of having a story be?**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter**

The doctor led Lorelai and Rory into a quiet hallway, then into an office. It was a typical doctor's office, a large desk in the middle with two chairs in front of it. Awards and certificates lined the walls, but Lorelai didn't pay much attention to any of it.

"Please," she said as she sat down in the chair next to Rory's. "What happened? Is Luke going to be okay?"

"I'm Doctor Tompkins," the doctor said. "Itook careof Luke. He's in recovery now."

Relief flooded through Lorelai's body. "So he's not..."

"He hasn't woken up yet," Dr. Tompkins replied. "But he's alive, yes."

"Oh, thank God," Lorelai replied. "Can I see him?"

"There's still some concerns I have," Dr. Tompkins replied. "There was minimal damage to the brain, but his leg was broken quite severely. We can talk more about this later, but is there any family that he has?"

"He has a sister," Lorelai replied. "She and her husband live in Maine. I can call them."

"Good," Dr. Tompkins replied. "Luke's leg was broken pretty badly. He's going to need some serious surgery to reconstruct it, and a long time in physical therapy."

Lorelai was hearing the words, but she knew that the only way that she would feel even remotely comforted at that moment would be to see Luke. "I'm sorry," she said, interrupting the doctor. "I really do want to know what's going to happen, but do you think for now...do you think that I could see him just for a few minutes?"

Dr. Tompkins smiled. "Of course," she said. "I just wanted to make sure that it was okay for Luke to stay with you until he's recovered."

Lorelai's jaw dropped. "Excuse me?"

"You are his girlfriend, correct?"

"Yes," Lorelai replied in confusion.

"Well, he won't be able to live alone while he's recovering," Dr. Tompkins said. "At least not right away. So I figured that it would be all right for him to stay with you."

Lorelai looked at Rory, who was looking at her with curious eyes. "Okay," she finally said.

Dr. Tompkins noddded and stood. "Let me show you to Luke's room," she said.

Lorelai and Rory stood and followed Dr. Tompkins into the hall. They walked to the end and Dr. Tompkins stopped outside a room on the right. "This is his room," she said. "He hasn't woken up yet, but he should anytime. There should be nurses to come and check on him every half an hour or so, but they'll make sure to give you your privacy."

Lorelai nodded. "Thank you," she said softly.

Rory touched Lorelai's arm gently and said gently, "I'll wait outside, Mom."

Lorelai nodded and leaned in to hug Rory gently. "Thanks, babe," she said. "I'll be out in a while, okay?"

"I'll come let you know when I'm heading back to school," Rory said.

Lorelai nodded. "Okay," she said.

Rory left the room and Lorelai turned to look at Luke. He was lying on the hospital bed, hooked up to various machines, a beep echoing through the room every few seconds with every beat of his heart. His leg was elevated and in a brace, and cuts and bruises were visible on his face. Lorelai's heart broke just looking at him, and she knew that she would never forgive herself for this if Luke didn't get better.

She pulled a chair up to sit next to Luke's bed and reached out to take his hand. She brought it to her lips and brushed a soft kiss over it before she brought it down to rest in her lap.

"I'm sorry," she whispered after a moment. "I wish you weren't here, I wish you were okay, and I wish we were really together so that I would have to lie to everyone about my rights to see you. I wish thatthe worst of our problems was the fact that you try to make me eat better while I try to keep you from becoming a grump. Luke, you have to wake up. I was wrong about what I said, I do want to be with you more than anything in the world. I'll give anything to hear you tell me that you love me right now. I need to be with you, Luke, I don't care what it takes."

She leaned her head down on the side of the bed, crying quietly into her hands as she tried to regain control of her emotions. After a moment, she felt a hand run through her hair, and she looked up, tears running down her face. "Luke?" she dared to whisper.

"Lorelai," Luke said softly. "You're here?" he asked as trying to make sure she was real.

Lorelai nodded. "I'm here," she said. "Do you really think I'd let you go through this alone?"

Luke opened his mouth to speak, but no words would come out. "Water," he requested hoarsely, and Lorelai rushed to the end table to pour water from the pitcher into the plastic cup. She held the cup as Luke drank eagerly, then sank back into the pillows. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I saw the crash," Lorelai said. "You scared me. I thought I'd lost you."

"You'll never lose me," Luke whispered as his eyes drifted closed again. Lorelai watched as he drifted off to sleep, knowing that there was still a lot for them to work out. But she was there, and he was glad that she was there, and that was all that mattered for now. The rest would work themselves out in due time. But until then, Lorelai knew she would have to be patient and help Luke to recover.

She pushed his hair back from his forehead and leaned down to give him a gentle kiss there before she walked out of the room to inform Rory what had happened and tell the nurses that Luke was awake.

As Luke dreamed, he could feel her presence beside him. He could feel her hand clutching his and he knew that she would be there for him no matter what. The comfort that she offered him by simply sitting next to his bed was all that he needed to recover from this accident.

Next chapter: Luke recovers and plans are discussed for where he should stay when he gets out of the hospital.


	3. Plotting

**Sorry for the long update. I know how annoying it is, but let's face it, this is a bust time of year for me with school ending and everything. I hope the people who are still reading this will enjoy it!**

When Luke woke again, he saw Lorelai still sitting at his bedside, reading a magazine. He smiled as he watched her, wishing that he could hold her again. But for now he was just grateful that she was here with him, even though they weren't together.

He cleared his throat, and Lorelai looked up at him. She smiled and closed her magazine. "Hi," she said.

"Hi," Luke replied. "You're still here."

Lorelai shrugged. "I called Liz, she said that she's going to be here in a couple of hours. But I figured until then you could use some company," she said.

"I'm glad you're here," Luke said.

Lorelai smiled. "Me too," she whispered.

Before either one of them could say anything, Dr. Tompkins walked in and smiled at them. "Hi, Lorelai," she said. "Hello, Luke. I'm Dr. Tompkins. I've been taking care of you since you've been here."

Luke looked from Dr. Tompkins to Lorelai, then back again. "You know each other?" he asked.

Dr. Tompkins nodded. "She is your girlfriend," she said. "And she got here with you in the ambulance. I wanted to make sure she knew what your injuries were and to make sure it was okay for you to stay with her when you get out of here."

Luke's eyes widened, and he looked to Lorelai. She was looking down at her feet, shifting uncomfortably. She hadn't wanted Luke to find out that she'd lied about who she was, at least not right away. "I'm going to go get some coffee," she mumbled.

"Lorelai," Luke said to her retreating back, but she either didn't hear him or didn't want to hear him.

"I've got to examine your wounds anyway, Luke," Dr. Tompkins said. "She would have had to leave anyways."

For the next five minutes, Luke was too uncomfortable to think about Lorelai as his bandages were changed and his broken leg was shifted. When Dr. Tompkins left his room, however, Luke's thoughts immediately shifted to Lorelai. She'd ridden in the ambulance with him, she'd been sitting by his bed, and she'd told the hospital that she was his girlfriend. What did that mean? She'd told him only the day before that they couldn't be together, and now she was offering to let him recover at her house. Could that mean that she'd changed her mind?

But if she had changed her mind, why the hell had she left when Dr. Tompkins told him what she'd said? Why hadn't she just been able to talk to him?

Luke turned these questions over in head until Lorelai returned nearly an hour after she'd left. "Hi," he said, looking at her closely. She'd been crying, he could tell.

"Hi," Lorelai said softly. "Listen, I talked to Liz, and she said she's going to be here in about an hour. So unless you want me to do anything for you, I'm going to head home."

Luke felt his heart drop. "Are you going to come back?" he asked.

Lorelai shurgged. "Don't you think that would be a little inappropriate?" she asked.

"You told the doctor that I can stay with you," Luke pushed.

"She thinks I'm your girlfriend," Lorelai replied. "I couldn't say no. Liz said she'll figure something out."

Luke sighed. Lorelai hadn't changed her mind. "Thank you for everything that you did for me," he mumbled.

"You're welcome," Lorelai said. "Oh, this is from Rory." She pulled an envelope out of her pocket and handed it to him. "She was here for awhile, but I told her that you wouldn't want her to miss too much school. She wantedme to give this to you."

"Thanks," Luke said as he took the envelope.

"So...I'm going to go, but I'll see you around," Lorelai said. "I hope your leg gets better fast."

"Do you have to go?" Luke asked.

"What would I be doing here?" Lorelai asked. Without waiting for an answer, she turned and walked out the door.

"Making me better," Luke said softly to himself.

With a sigh, he opened the envelope that Rory had sent to him and found a get well card. When he opened it, he was surprised to see a long message written inside.

_Luke,_

_I really hope that you're going to be okay. When Sookie called me and told me that you were in an accident, I was so scared. But when I got to the hospital and saw Mom, I knew that I needed to be strong for her. I know my mother Luke, and I know that she probably isn't letting you see any of her emotions. But she's terrified. Especially before we heard from the doctor, she could barely even stand._

_I'm asking you to realize that she loves you. I know you're broken up, but from what I hear from Lane, you're just as miserable as Mom. She's too stubborn to be the one who comes to you, and I know that you two belong together. If there's anything good to come out of this accident, it will be the fact that you and Mom have to realize that you're right for each other. _

_I'm glad that you're getting better. I'm going to come see you this weekend, when I have more time. I love you Luke, like you were my father._

_Love,_

_Rory_

Luke was surprised by the contents of Rory's note, but he realized that she was right. He was at a disadvantage, however, as he was unable to move from his hospital bed.

Before he could figure anything out, Liz walked into the room and rushed to his bed. "Big brother!" she cried. "I'm so glad to see you!"

Luke couldn't help but smile as he hugged Liz. "Hi, Liz," he said. "Thanks for coming."

"Of course I came," Liz said. "How are you?"

"A little banged up," Luke replied. "I can't wait to get out of here."

"I called the Dragonfly," Liz said. "Sookie said she'll get you a room on the first floor."

"I don't want to stay at the Dragonfly," Luke said stubbornly. If Lorelai didn't want him at her house, then she wouldn't want him at her inn either.

"Why not?" Liz asked.

"Liz, the Dragonfly is Lorelai's inn," Luke said.

"Oh," Liz said. She tilted her head, then said, "You know, Lorelai was the one who called and told me about your accident."

"Yeah, I know," Luke replied.

"I thought you were broken up."

"We are."

"Then why was she here?"

"I don't know."

Liz looked down at her brother for a moment. "You look tired," she said. "I'm going to go talk to the doctors and hear for myself what's wrong with you. While I'm gone, you try and get some sleep okay?"

Luke nodded. "Kay."

Liz walked out of Luke's room, but instead of finding the doctor, she walked down to the lobby. After placing a quick call to Jess, she punched a new number into her phone and waited until someone picked up.

"Rory? This is Liz, Luke's sister...he's going to be fine...Listen, I was wondering if you could do mea favor..."

When Liz entered Luke's room fifteen minutes later, she had a sly smile on her face as she thought about her new co-conspirator and the plan they had formed. Things were going to work out between Luke and Lorelai if it was the last thing she did.

Next chapter: Rory talks to Lorelai and Liz talks to Luke about what's going to happen when he finally leaves the hospital. Lorelai pays another visit to Luke in the hospital


	4. Sneaky

**I'm sorry for the long update! If there's anyone out there still reading this, I'd really like some feedback. Tell me if you liked it or not!**

When Lorelai walked into her house after returning from visiting Luke at the hospital, she threw her purse on the floor and collapsed onto the couch. The past few days had been exhausting, and she didn't even know what she was supposed to be feeling. She was relieved that Luke was going to be okay, but she felt guilty that she'd refused him from staying at her house.

But they weren't together. He was the one who had ended it. How could she possibly let him stay in her house, take care of him while knowing they were still in love with each other.

Why did she have to be so stubborn? She knew that they were both miserable, but she refused to give in. She didn't want to get hurt again, because losing Luke was the hardest thing she'd ever gone through. She couldn't do it, not without losing herself again. She couldn't go back to the person that she'd been right after Luke had broken up with her.

With a sigh, Lorelai closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, hoping to rid herself of all her troubling thoughts.

**DRAGONFLY INN**

While Lorelai was arguing with herself about her feelings for Luke, Rory drove up to the Dragonfly and turned her car off. She took a deep breath before she got out of the car and headed inside. She passed by Michel at the front desk without a second glance and walked into the kitchen.

"Hi, Sookie," she said.

When Sookie heard Rory's voice, her head snapped up. "How's Luke?" she asked. "Is he okay, how's your mom holding up?"

Rory smiled. "Luke's going to be fine," she said. "And Mom...she's in denial about the whole thing. Luke can't stay at his apartment when he gets out of the hospital because he needs to stay somewhere on the first floor. Mom didn't want him to stay with her, so she got him a reservation here."

Sookie narrowed her eyes. "What are you trying to say?" she asked.

Rory smiled slyly. "Has the Dragonfly ever...overbooked? Lost a reservation?" she asked.

Sookie's eyes widened. "Rory..." she said. "If Lorelai made the reservations herself, then there's no way she would have overbooked."

"That's fine," Rory replied. "Michel stepped out for a moment, and I was here visiting you. The phone rang with a reservation request, and I overbooked. It'll all be my fault."

Sookie looked at Rory doubtfully. "Why are you doing this, Rory?" she asked.

"I talked to Liz, Luke's sister," Rory replied. "It's obvious that Luke and Mom both want to get back together. They just need a little push in the right direction. If Luke doesn't have a reservation here, then the only other place he has to go is Mom's. Please Sookie, you know how miserable Mom's been. I promise, if Mom gets mad at anyone, it will be me because this was all my idea. I just...I want her to be happy again. I hate seeing her miserable."

Sookie sighed and looked down, resting her hands on her belly, biting her lip as she thought for a moment. Finally, she looked back up at Rory and smiled. "Okay," she said.

Rory's eyes widened with excitement. "Really?" she cried. "Oh thank you, Sookie, thank you, thank you."

Sookie smiled as she hugged Rory. "Okay, let's go," she said. "Time's wasting."

Rory smiled. "You go distract Michel, I'll erase the reservation from the computer."

Sookie nodded. They walked out into the lobby and Sookie smiled at Michel. "Michel," she said sweetly.

"What?" Michel asked dryly without looking up from his work.

"I need you to get me the jar of tomatoes off the top shelf of the refrigerator."

"Can't you stand on a stool?"

"No!" Sookie cried. "Michel, I can't lift anything heavy, and I need those tomatoes for the spaghetti sauce I'm making tonight."

Michel sighed loudly and rolled his eyes. He walked out from behind the desk. "If I ruin my suit,you will buy me three new ones," Rory could hear him say as he and Sookie walked back towards the kitchen.

Rory hurried around the desk and tapped into the reservation book. She knew that there would be a day when she was glad for all the work she did with her mother while she was growing up at the Independance Inn. She found the reservation for Luke's stay and looked a the screen for a moment. She bit her lip, then hit delete. With a beep, the computer deleted the reservation and the screen appeared with a empty space. She paused for a moment before she typed in a fake name, number, and address, then ran back around the desk as she heard Sookie and Michel coming back.

"I'm sorry, Michel," Sookie said. "I forgot that I'd already sliced the tomatoes."

"Well next time you might want to check before you get me to ruin my clothes," Michel replied. "My suit is all wrinkled."

Sookie rolled her eyes. "That's why they make irons, Michel," she said. "I'm going to get back to the kitchen."

She looked at Rory, who gave her a smile and a thumbs up before she turned and slid out the door. She sat back down in the driver's side of her car and pulled out her phone. She called Liz, waiting for her to pick up.

**HARTFORD MEMORIAL HOSPITAL**

Liz was watching Luke grumble about eating hospital food when her phone rang. "Hello?"

"I did it," Rory said. "The reservation's gone."

Liz smiled. "Good," she said. "I can't really talk right now, I'll call you back later."

Luke narrowed his eyes at his sister. "Who is that?" he asked.

Liz waved him off, then said, "Okay, I'll talk to you then. Bye."

"Liz, who was that?" Luke asked before she'd eve closed her phone.

"You think you can monitor all my calls, big brother?" Liz asked. "I am allowed to have my own life. Eat, you need your strength to get that leg back to normal."

Luke sighed as he looked down at the dry meat and aged salad. "Why the hell would I want to eat this?" he asked.

Liz rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said. "Don't eat it. See if I care."

Luke shoved the tray aside and leaned his head agaisnt the back of the bed. "Lizzy, can I ask you something?" he asked.

Liz looked up in surprise. No one had called her that since their dad had died. "Sure," she said. "What is it?"

"When I told Lorelai it was over...I didn't mean it. But I guess that was my own fault, because she was trying to explain, and I was too damn stubborn to listen. But now...when we were at the show, she said that she was still in love with me. And she was here...for two days, she sat next to me, she told the hospital that she was my girlfriend so they would let her in. But when I tried to talk to her, she ran. She doesn't want me at her house, she doesn't want to take care of me. How can she do that if she really loves me?"

Liz sighed and took Luke's hand. "Lorelai's been through a lot in her life," she said. "She's been a lot like me...she's never had anyone who really cared about her, besides Rory. And I know that you cared about her. You still do. But Lorelai...well, I think you hurt her a lot, and now she's scared. She's scared if she goes back to you you'll hurt her again."

Luke hung his head, hating himself for causing Lorelai so much pain. "Why do I have to be such a jerk?" he asked. "She was the best thing that ever happened to me, I should have believed her when she told me nothing happened."

"Why don't you talk to her?" Liz asked. "Tell her how sorry you are?"

Luke sighed. "She doesn't want to talk to me anymore," he said. "And I don't blame her."

Liz started to say something, but was cut off by her phone ringing again. She pulled it out of her pocket and opened it. "Hello...what?...well, what are we supposed to do...he can't stay there, he can't climb steps...Lorelai..."

Luke's head snapped up when he heard that Liz was talking to Lorelai. He frowned, then leaned forward to try and hear what Lorelai was saying.

"Thank you, Lorelai...I know...I really appreciate that...Yeah, I'll tell him...thanks again..." Liz hung up the phone and looked at Luke.

"What the hell was that all about?" Luke asked.

"The reservation was never finalized at the inn," Liz replied. "When you get out of here, you're staying at Lorelai's."

Luke's jaw dropped, and he tried to figure out what that meant. Was Lorelai giving him another chance?

He could dare to hope so.

**Next chapter: Luke is released from the hospital and Lorelai prepares the hosue for him.**


	5. Surprises

**Sorry for the long update, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with this. I hope this chapter was worth the wait, and let me know what you think!**

Lorelai lay in her bed a half an hour before her alarm clock was to go off, staring at the ceiling and thinking about the mess that she'd gotten herself into. How could she possibly sleep when she knew that she was going to be caring for Luke for coming weeks? Over the course of the night, her mind hand jumped from emotion to emotion, and she had no idea how she really felt about the subject.

Part of her was excited. Maybe having Luke in the house would allow them both to realize that they could work this out. That was, after all, what they both wanted.

But another part of her was scared. What if Luke didn't want to be in her house, having her care for him, but he didn't really have any other choice? How could she handle it if he was cold to her, as he had been that day in Doose's? She loved him, and she couldn't kick him out, but if he didn't want to be there with her, she didn't know what she would do.

And yet another part of her was mad. How could Michel had been stupid enough to double book the inn? She'd made the reservation for Luke herself, and she'd always been careful not to book even to capacity for fear of another emergency like the fire at the Independance Inn. Although that was the first night she had spent at Luke's...

With a sigh, Lorelai decided that there was no point in trying to sleep now. As if on auto pilot, she walked downstairs and began brewing a pot of coffee. She walked back upstairs and took a quick shower, pulling on jeans and a sweater before she walked back downstairs. She sighed in delight as she sipped her precious caffiene, and knew that if Luke were there, he would have been trying to sneak her decaf at the very least.

Lorelai looked at the clock and rolled her eyes. Luke would be here soon enough, and she still needed breakfast. She looked around the kitchen for a moment before she grabbed a pop tart and walked out of the house, coffee in one hand and breakfast in the other. She started the jeep and began to drive towards Hartford, hoping that the arrangements that she'd made at her house would be suitable enough for Luke's needs.

**Hartford Memorial Hospital**

Luke shoved his breakfast tray out of his lap and looked at Liz. "I don't want it," he said.

Liz rolled her eyes. "Come on, big brother," she said. "You know that they won't let you leave here unless you have something in your stomach."

"I'm not hungry."

"Then you're going to have to stay here," Liz replied. "And then something might open up at the inn and you won't have to stay at Lorelai's."

Luke considered that for a moment, then took a bite of the cold eggs on his plate, trying not to gag. As he reached for the orange juice on the tray, the door opened and Rory poked her head in. "Hi," she said, obviously uncomfortable. "Uh, I was supposed to meet Mom here, but I guess she's running late, so I can just wait downstairs..."

Luke shook his head. "You can wait here," he said. "I haven't really talked to you since, well, the wedding..."

Rory nodded, knowing that it was hard for Luke to think about the night that he'd lost her mother. "Actually, I need to talk to Liz about something," she said. "We'll be right back."

Liz stood and looked down at Luke. "Keep eating," she demanded before she turned and followed Rory out of the room.

When they were alone in the hallway, Rory began to pace and wave her hands around as she ranted. "I talked to Mom last night after you did and she said that she thought she was making a mistake by letting Luke stay with her. I told her that I would come home for the weekend, and she said that would be good for her. It's also good because it means that I'll be in my room downstairs, so she'll have to figure something else out for Luke, preferably having her bed moved downstairs and then they can both stay down there. I don't know if this is going to work..."

Liz interrupted Rory. "Wow, with that rant, you really could be my brother's daughter."

Rory took a deep breath and focused again. "Sorry," she said. "But Liz, Mom told me..."

"Hey, why are you two out here?" a familiar voice asked and Rory froze. A moment later, Lorelai put her arm around her daughter and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Hi, hon. Hi, Liz."

Liz looked curiously at Rory, wondering what she had been about to tell her when Lorelai had arrived. She snapped out of it and smiled at Lorelai. "Hi," she said. "We were just giving Luke some time to eat by himself. He's pretty crabby."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Maybe if he wasn't so Goddamn stubborn he wouldn't be so grumpy all the time," she said. "Let me try."

When Luke heard the door open, he didn't look away from the sports recap on the TV as he said, "For the last time, I don't want this crap they call food."

"Well, that's ashame," Lorelai said gently. "Because I already have my house all set up, so I guess I'll have to look around for someone else with a broken leg who will actually want to come home with me."

Luke immediately turned off the TV and turned to Lorelai with a smile. "You came," he said.

"Of course I came," Lorelai replied. "We may not be together anymore, but I'd hate to see you injured and homeless."

She had to remind him of that little fact, Luke thought as he slumped back into his pillows. With a deep sigh, he shoved the last bite of eggs in his mouth and said, "There. Can we leave now?"

Lorelai laughed. "Hang on there, Casanova," she said. She held out a bag to him. "I brought you a flannel and some shorts."

"It's the middle of February."

"Well, I don't know how the hell you're going to get jeans on over that cast."

Liz and Rory stood in the doorway, observing the way that Luke and Lorelai were beginning to fall back into their easy banter, whether they realized it or not. With any hope, they would be together again by the time Luke was healed.

**Gilmore House**

Lorelai parked the jeep in front of her house and hurried around to help Luke out of the car. Rory had stopped at the diner to say hi to Lane and pick up some food for lunch, so Lorelai would have some time to get Luke adjusted.

When she had sucessfully helped him up the steps and opened the door, Luke hobbled into the familiar house on his crutches and stopped in the door to the living room. There was a large bed set up behind the couch, beneath a window. His heart sank as he realized that this was where Lorelai had intended to have him sleep. That made sense, after all. The entire reason that he was staying here was that he couldn't climb the stiars to his apartment.

But a tiny part of him had been hoping that he would have been able to sleep with Lorelai in her bedroom again.

"Is something wrong?" Lorelai asked, tearing Luke out of his thoughts.

Luke shook his head as he made his way to the bed and sat down. "No," he said. "I just wasn't expecting to find a bed in the living room."

Lorelai smiled. "And you thought that matress that we stole from Yale wouldn't come in handy," she said. "Umm, feel free to make yourself at home. I think you know where everything is, but I'm here to take care of me, so just let me know if you need anything."

"Uh, actually right now all I really need is the bathroom," Luke replied.

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Oh," she said. "Well, the only bathroom is upstairs, so I guess you'll have to go up there no matter what. Let me help you."

Luke walked over to the stairs and Lorelai stood behind him, ready to steady him if he lost his balance. When they reached the top, Lorelai headed towards her bedroom as Luke hobbled towards the bathroom. "Tell me when you're ready to go back downstairs," Lorelai said.

Luke nodded and opened the door to the bathroom. As he leaned his crutches against the counter, his eye caught something that made his throat catch. He swallowed hard as he reached for the box, examining it carefully before he yelled, "Lorelai!"

Lorelai rushed to the bathroom, and when she saw what he was holding, her eyes went wide. "Luke..." she started.

"What the hell is this?" Luke asked as he held the pregnancy test box in her face. "Were you ever planning on telling me that you're pregnant?"

**Next chapter: Is Lorelai pregnant? I haven't decided yet, tell me what you think!**


	6. Disappointments

**Thanks for all the suggestions! It really helped me out, I hope you guys like this chapter!**

The tension in the room was obvious. Lorelai stood staring at Luke in shock, wondering how she had been stupid enough not to hide the box with the pregnancy tests better. Luke gripped the counter with one hand, his knuckles turning white as he waved the box in Lorelai's face. Neither one of them knew what to say, but they couldn't look away from each other.

After a long pause, Luke began to lose his balance, trying to keep his weight off of his broken leg. Lorelai snapped into action and hurried into the bathroom, closing the lid of the toilet as she said, "Sit down, it's not good for you to be standing."

"No," Luke said, stubborn as always. "I want to know why the hell you didn't tell me."

"I can be just as stubborn as you," Lorelai replied. "I'm supposed to be taking care of you, so sit down and we'll talk."

Luke looked at her for a moment, then realized that the pain in his leg was becoming worse by the second and reluctantly sat down on the closed toilet, letting the box drop into his lap. Lorelai sat down across from him on the edge of the bathtub and reached out to take his hand.

"Luke," she said softly. "Look at the box."

"What?" Luke asked in disbelief. "I've already looked at the damn box, Lorelai, that's why we're having this conversation."

Lorelai smiled slightly and reached out to take the box. She turned it so that Luke could see the side and he gasped slightly. "It's not open," he stated.

"Yeah," Lorelai said softly. "So I don't know if I'm pregnant or not."

"But...you might be," Luke replied.

Lorelai sighed and lowered her eyes to her lap. "I'm late," she said. "So I bought the test. I just haven't had time, with the play, and then your accident...I just didn't have time to worry about being pregnant on top of everything else."

"You should have told me," Luke said.

"I would have," Lorelai replied. "Except I thought that I thought you hated me."

"Okay, I admit that we didn't part ways on the best of terms and that's my fault," Luke said. "But...I guess I just never thought of this happening like this."

"I was going to take the test and tell you if it was positive," Lorelai replied. "I figured that if it was negative, you would never know the difference."

Luke sighed and looked at her closely. "You shouldn't have gone through this by yourself," he said. "I would have been there in a heartbeat. I don't like thinking of you going through this by yourself."

Lorelai shrugged. "I've done it before," she replied.

"Oh, Lorelai," Luke said softly. "You must know that I would never abandon you if you needed me. I love you too much for that."

There was a moment, Luke was sure of it. As he and Lorelai looked deeply into each other's eyes, he felt a flashback to the Dragonfly Inn on its test run, when they'd been about to kiss for the first time. Before he could say anything, Lorelai broke the gaze and stood up. "This can't be happening," she said.

Luke looked at her with wide eyes, wondering what he had done wrong. "Why not?" he asked.

"If anything happens between us now, I'll never know if it was because we really wanted to get back together or if it's because of the fact that I might be pregnant," Lorelai replied. "And I can't do that, Luke."

Luke sighed, knowing that it would take a lot more than he originally thought to get back together with Lorelai. He'd originally thought that if she was pregnant with his child it might give them a stronger connection, a reason to get back together, but she was telling him otherwise.

"Look, now that you're here and you know about this, maybe I should just take the test and we'll go from there," Lorelai said. "We can figure this out once we know for sure."

Luke nodded, then reached for his crutches. When Lorelai put her hand on his shoulder to steady him as he stood, both of them had to take a moment to ignore the electricity that shot out from her fingertips to his skin. After a moment, Luke took a deep breath and said, "I'll wait in your bedroom." Lorelai nodded as she closed the door behind him and reached for the box.

When Lorelai was alone in the bathroom, she sat down on the closed toilet and held the two plastic tests in her hand, knowing that whatever the results from this test, her life would change forever. It was a comfort to know that Luke was waiting for her in the next room, and she knew then that this arrangement could never end in the two of them being friends as they had before. She needed him, she realized, but she was afraid to tell him that.

Luke was sitting on Lorelai's bed when she came back, and she offered him a weak smile as she sat down and said, "Now all we have tp do is wait."

He nodded, and they sat in defeaning silence for a few moments.

As they sat together, each was thinking that it was possible that they had conceived a child in this very room. Lorelai swallowed hard, trying to surpress her tears and tell herself to be strong, to not break down in front of Luke.

Finally, Luke couldn't take it anymore and he turned to look at her. "What about what you said?" he asked

Lorelai looked at him with wide eyes. "What are you talking about?"

Luke kept his gaze focused on her. "All the things you said at the play," Luke replied. "That you love me, but we couldn't be together. You never really meant it, did you?"

"I didn't say that," Lorelai argued. "I did mean it!"

"So why can't we be together?" Luke asked. "Why can't you just accept the fact that I want to be with you? Is it so hard to believe? Because I've wanted to be with you for as long as I've known you!"

"Luke, you have no idea what I went through when you told me you wanted out," Lorelai replied. "I was devastated. I was more broken up about the fact that you left me than I was when Christopher left when I was sixteen with a two day old baby!"

"That's what it's always about, isn't it?" Luke asked. "Christopher."

That caught Lorelai by surprise. "What?" she snapped.

"Christopher has always been your safety net," Luke replied. "You know that he'll always want you, so when things get rough, you go to him."

"Luke, I don't know what the hell you're talking about," Lorelai replied. "Things were great between us. I even tried on wedding gowns!"

There was silence in the room as Luke took in what she had said and Lorelai clapped a hand over her mouth.

"What?" Luke finally asked.

"When my mother was picking out a dress to wear for the renewal," she said softly. "I was just looking through the dresses, trying to figure out what you would like to see me in asI walked down the aisle." The look on Luke's face was one of complete disbelief, and she shrugged. "It doesn't really mean anything now," she said.

Before she knew what was happening, Luke grabbed her arm and pulled her close to him, holding her firmly to him as he pressed his mouth against hers agressively. After a moment of initial surprise, Lorelai melted into the kiss and slowly moved closer to him. They kissed for a long time before Lorelai finally pulled back.

"Wow," she said, trying to catch her breath.

Luke smiled shyly, not usually one to be so agressive, especially with Lorelai.

"What just happened?" she asked.

"I think..." Luke said tentatively. "We're on the road to getting back together."

Lorelai smiled as she reached out to touch his cheek. "I like that," she whispered.

Before Luke could reply, there was a faint beeping coming from across the hall and they both froze.

"The tests," Lorelai whispered.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Luke asked.

"Yeah," Lorelai said. "You should be there."

It took longer than it should have, with Luke on his crutches, but when they got there, they each picked up a test. "Negative," they said at the same time.

Luke looked up to Lorelai and tried to read her expression. She set the test on the counter and looked up, not showing any emotion.

"Well," she said. "I guess that's a relief."

Luke knew she was lying. "Lorelai..." he started, but she shook her head.

"Let me help you downstairs," she said. "I need some time alone and I think a nap will do some good."

With a sigh, Luke nodded and turned. He allowed Lorelai to help him as he hobbled down the stairs and collapsed onto the bed. He opened his mouth to say something to her, then realized that she had already fled back upstairs. With a sigh, he closed his eyes, a feeling of disappointment coming over him.

Upstairs, Lorelai lay in her bed, her hand tracing over her stomach. She wasn't sure that the test was accurate; she hadn't had a period in seven weeks, and she felt queasy. On top of this, she had to worry about Luke, and their relationship. She buried her face in her pillow, finally allowing the tears to come.

**Next chapter: Lorelai needs some comfort in the middle of the night, so who does she turn to? Luke goes to the hospital for a check up and he and Lorelai get a surprise.**


	7. Back together

**Thanks for all the support, it's keeping me going! **

Later that night, Lorelai lay in bed staring up at the ceiling. She and Luke had shared an awkward dinner with Rory, one that would have passed in complete silence had it not been for Rory's attempts to start a conversation. After dinner, Lorelai had immediately returned to her bedroom, not wanting to deal with Luke before she was ready to.

She didn't want to admit it, but she had hoped that she'd been pregnant. Tears streamed down her face as she thought that if she had been pregnant with Luke's baby, no matter what happened in the furture they would always have a connection. Now she didn't know what would happen. She rolled onto her stomach and buried her face in her pillow, trying to stifle the sobs that she couldn't control.

Downstairs, directly under Lorelai's bedroom, Luke lay awake, listening to Lorelai's tears. His heart was breaking, and he could feel a little piece of him dying as he realized that Lorelai was crying because of him and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He felt tears filling his own eyes, wishing that he could do something-anything-to help her feel better. The past week had been one of the most emotional of his life, and he didn't know how he was going get through it if Lorelai kept shutting him out.

The car accident, his desires to get back together with Lorelai, and the disappointment about her pregnancy scare were taking their toll on him, and he sighed, running a hand over his face in attempt to clear his thoughts and fall asleep.

Then he heard a noise coming from the stairs. Footsteps, and then a tentative, "Luke?"

Luke propped himself up on his elbows and squinted into the darkness. "Lorelai?" he asked. "What are you doing?"

Lorelai was relieved to find him awake, and she walked over and slid onto the other side of the bed. "I'm sorry, Luke," she whispered. "About everything. But...I really need you right now. Can you just hold me?"

Luke felt relief flood his body as Lorelai curled herself into him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and felt her bury her face in his chest, tossing a leg carefully over his unijured one. "Lorelai..." he whispered as he buried his face in her hair, unable to believe that this was happening.

After several moments, Lorelai lifted her head and looked up at Luke. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "For shutting you out, for telling you that I don't want to be with you. Because I do want to be with you, and I don't think that I can habdle this without you."

Luke reached out and wiped a tear away from her face. "Handle what?" he asked softly.

"I'm so disappointed, Luke," Lorelai whispered. "I wasn't sure if I wanted to be pregnant, but when the test came back negative...I felt disappointed. Like I'd lost something. That's why I need you, only if it's just for tonight, i just need you to hold me."

"Shh," Luke whispered. "Lorelai, I'm here for you no matter what. You know that. And you have nothing to feel sorry for. Everything that's happened...it's my fault. I never wanted to break up with you."

Lorelai sniffled slightly and reached out to stroke his cheek. "So what do you say now?" she whispered. "Are you still in?"

Luke smiled as he remembered his promise from their first date. What an idiot he had been, he couldn't even keep a promise to the one woman who meant the entire world to him.

"I'm in," he whispered. "I love you Lorelai, I always have."

Lorelai leaned forward and kissed him gently, then settled her head back on his chest. "I love you too," she whispered.

The laid together in silence for a long time, and Luke thought that she had drifted off to sleep. He continued to run his fingers through her hair, and kissed the top of her head, relieved that she had finally come to him and praying that he wasn't dreaming.

Then Lorelai ran a hand over his chest and whispered, "Luke?"

"Yeah?" he asked, a little surprised to hear her voice.

"When you get your cast off...and you can go back to work and everything...are you going to move back into your apartment?"

Luke frowned, then realized what she was getting at. He smiled slightly as he asked, "Do you want me to?"

"Well," Lorelai began. "Actually, I'd realy like it...if you'd stay here. I mean, we can keep the bed down here until you're better, and the downstairs toilet is supposed to get fixed next week...but after that, maybe you could just move in here. Into my bedroom, with me."

Luke smiled down at her. "I think that's a great idea," he whispered.

"Really?" Lorelai asked, sitting up to look at him in the dim moonlight that was flowing in through the window. With a smile, she leaned down to kiss him. After a moment, she pulled back and asked, "You don't think this is too sudden, do you?"

Luke shook his head and brushed some hair out of her eyes. "No," he replied. "Lorelai, I've loved you for as long as I've known you. When we were together I was happier than I ever had been. I know that this is right. I just wish that I hadn't screwed this up as much as I did."

Lorelai shook her head. "Luke, let's just put that behind us, okay?" she said. "This way, we can move forward."

Luke nodded and smiled down at her. "I agree," he said.

Lorelai yawned as she settled against him, for good this time. "Good night," she whispered. "Wake me up in you need anything."

Luke kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes, feeling himself drift off to sleep as well. His last conscious thought was of Lorelai's soft breath on his neck, and her arm draped over his chest.

The next morning, Rory stumbled out of her room at ten thirty. She frowned, wondering why the house was so quiet and scowled when she realized that there was no coffee in the pot. Couldn't her mother have at least left her one cup's worth before she left for the inn?

When Rory entered the living room, she stopped short as her gaze fell on the bed.

Her mother, in Luke's arms, resting peacefully as his hand rested in her hair. From the looks of things, they had made up sometime in between their silent dinner the night before and this morning.

Rory turned and walked quietly back into her room, not wanting to disturb her mother or Luke.

Lorelai stirred as she opened her eyes, looking around and wondering where she was at first. Then she remembered what had happened last night and looked down at Luke. For the first time, she'd woken up in Luke's arms. When they'd been dating, they'd fallen asleep close to each other, but save for the first morning they woke up together, this was the first time she'd ever woken in his arms, and she loved it.

With a smile, she leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Luke." Kiss on the left cheek. "It's time..." kiss on the right cheek. "To gett up." This time she planted her lips against his. A moment later, she smiled into the kiss as she felt Luke respond and pull her tight against his body.

When they needed breath, Lorelai pulled back and smiled down at him. "Hi," she whispered.

"Hi," he replied.

"So we're really back together," Lorelai said.

"Yeah," Luke replied. "And I'm not going to let anything happen to us ever again."

"Good," Lorelai replied. She looked aover his shoulder at the clock and sighed. "You have to be at the hospital for your follow up appointment at noon."

Luke sighed. "We should probably get up," he said.

Lorelai stood and held out his crutches to him. "Let's go burger boy, I want breakfast before we have to leave."

Luke smiled as he took the crutches. It was good to see the Lorelai that he had fallen in love with back. He hobbled towards the stairs and Lorelai followed behind him to make sure he didn't fall. "I'm going to get dressed, then go see if Rory's still here, so just call me when you're ready to go," she said.

"Sure," Luke replied.

Lorelai patted his shoulder and leaned up to him. "Kiss," she whispered.

Luke obliged and kissed her for a moment, damning his crutches and the fact that he couldn't put his arms around her. After a moment, Lorelai pulled back and walked into her bedroom. For the first time in weeks, she felt happy as she applied her make up, fixed her hair, and picked out her tightest pair of jeans and a sweater that hugged her like a second skin. It was fun to have someone to dress sexy for again.

When she ran down the stairs ten minutes later, she poked her head in Rory's room and saw her sitting on her bed, and English book open in her lap. "Hey Mom," she said. "Come on in."

Lorelai smiled as she sat down on the bed. "So Luke and I are good again," she said.

"I know," Rory replied. "You two looked pretty cozy this morning," she said.

Lorelai blushed. "You saw us?"

"Well, the bed is in the middle of the living room, it's kind of hard to miss," Rory replied.

Lorelai smiled. "So when are you heading back to Yale?" she asked. "We have to go to the hospital for Luke, but then maybe you can meet up with us for lunch."

Rory smiled but shook her head. "That's okay, Mom," she said. "I'll let you and Luke have some time alone."

"You're just going to go back to Yale?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah," Rory replied. "Logan's probably wondering where I got to the past couple of days anyway."

Lorelai nodded. She leaned forward and hugged Rory tightly. "Thank you for being here for me," she whispered. "I don't know what I would have been able to do without you here."

Rory hugged her mother back. "I love you, Mom," she whispered. "And you've always been there for me, so I'll always be there for you."

Lorelai kissed the top of Rory's head. "I love you too," she whispered. After a moment, she pulled back and said, "I'm going to go check on Luke."

As she stood up, she felt a sudden dizzy spell was over her, and she collapsed back onto the bed.

"Mom?" Rory asked. "Are you okay?"

Lorelai nodded slowly, wondering what had happened. "Yeah," she replied. "I just haven't had any coffee yet."

Rory eyes her suspiciously but said, "Be careful."

"I will, hon," Lorelai replied. "Don't worry about me."

When Lorelai walked into the living room, Luke was halfway down the stairs, slowly making his way down step by step. "Luke, what are you doing?" she cried. "You were supposed to call me so I could help."

Luke sighed as he made it to the last step. "Well, I made it, didn't I?" he said with a slight smirk.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Fine, maybe I just won't help you when you ask next time," she teased.

"Let's just go to the stupid doctor," Luke said. "I want to get this over with."

"Okay, but I'm stopping for coffee," Lorelai replied. She grabbed her purse and keys, then held the front door open for Luke. "Rory, we're leaving, hon," she called into the kitchen.

"Okay, bye!" Rory replied.

When Lorelai parked in front of the diner, Luke unbuckled his seatbelt and started to open the door. Lorelai looked at him and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Uh, getting out of the car," Luke replied. "I need to check on the diner."

Lorelai shook her head. "Luke, the doctor said that you can't work until he gives you the okay," she said. "And the time it will take you to get into the diner will make us late, so I'm just going to run in, get some coffee, and come back."

Luke stared at her for a moment, then realized she was right. "Fine," he grumbled.

Lorelai smiled as she got out of the car and walked into the diner. Less than two minutes later, she returned to the car without coffee and an expression of distaste on her face.

"You okay?" Luke asked as she buckled her seatbelt.

"Fine," Lorelai replied.

"Where's your coffee?"

"I didn't want any."

Silence.

After a moment, Lorelai glanced over at him and smiled. "I've shocked you, huh?" she asked.

"Why don't you wnat coffee?" Luke managed to get out.

Lorelai shrugged. "I felt sick as soon as I got a whiff of it," she said.

"Are you okay now?" Luke asked, reaching for her hand.

"I'm fine," she replied.

They arrived at the hospital a few minutes later and Lorelai parked the car, then hurried around to grab Luke's crutches from the backseat. She helped him into the waiting room, and as she waited in line at the receptionist desk, she heard someone call her name. She turned and was immediately met my her mother.

"Lorelai Gilmore!" Emily cried. "What on earth are you doing here?"

Lorelai looked at her mother for a moment before she turned on her heel and face forward in line again.

"Lorelai!" Emily pestered. "I asked you a question, it's only proper to respond!"

Lorelai suddenly felt tired, and she had no energy to deal with her mother right then. "I'm here with Luke," she replied.

"Luke?" Emily repeated.

"Yes, Luke, my boyfriend, the one that you tried to make hate me by setting me up with Christopher!" Lorelai yelled. People were beginning to stare and Luke got to his feet and started to make his way across the waiting room to Lorelai.

"That is completely absurb!" Emily replied. She kept talking, but Lorelai didn't hear what she was saying. She turned to look for Luke, but syddenly everything went blurry. The room seemed to be spinning and she stumbled slightly, trying to find a chair. "Luke!" she whispered as she began to fall.

From across the room, Luke stopped and watched in horror as Lorelai fell to the floor. Emily's eyes widened as a nurse rushed around the desk to kneel on the floor next to her, and a moment later, two more arrived with a gurney.

"Where are you taking her?" Luke asked. "Is she okay?"

For the millionth time that day, Luke damned his broken leg and wished that he could follow her. Instead, he sank into a chair and let his crutches fall to the ground. He buried his face in his hands, suddenly flashing back to why he hated hospitals; he remembered sitting in a similar waiting room as the doctors tried unsuccessfully to save his father's life twenty years ago.

"Luke Danes?" A nurse appeared in the doorway awhile later.

"That's me," Luke said as he struggled to his feet. "Is she okay?"

The nurse smiled sympathetically at him. "Miss Gilmore is going to be fine," she replied. "However, we're not sure how her fall impacted the baby."

**Okay, I know some of you didn't want Lorelai to be pregnant, but who's to say what will happen in the future of the story? Let me know what you want to happen!**

**Next chapter: Luke and Lorelai talk about their baby and wonder if it will be okay. **


	8. Relief

**Sorry for the wait! I graduated yesterday, so I've only had time to work on this here and there. Hope you enjoy! Please tell me what you think!**

Ten minutes later, Luke stood in the doorway to Lorelai's hospital room. She was sleeping, her hair spilled out on the pillow behind her. Aside from the IV hooked into her arm, she looked the same as she always did when she was asleep. Luke smiled slightly as he remembered how he would wake up early the mornings that he woke up next to her just so he could watch her when she wasn't running around screaming for coffee. Those had always been his favoriate mornings, and he had worn a smile all day long when he got to wake up with Lorelai.

Now, they had just gotten back together but the child they had conceived may not be alive. And Lorelai didn't even know it existed.

With a sigh, Luke made his way into her room and struggled into the chair that was next to her bed. He set his crutches on the floor and reached out to take Lorelai's hand in his own. He kissed the back of it, then squeezed it, needing to see for himself that Lorelai was okay.

When she opened her eyes and turned her head to smile at him, he felt relief fill his heart. "Hi," she whispered. "What happened?"

"You passed out in the waiting room," Luke replied. "Do you remember anything?"

Lorelai frowned for a moment, then said, "My mother. She was yelling at me. Is she still here?"

"She's in the waiting room," Luke replied. "Lorelai, there's something you should know."

Lorelai noticed the serious tone in his voice. "What?" she asked.

"The test you took was wrong," Luke replied. "You are pregnant."

Lorelai's eyes lit up. "Really?" she asked. The smile was gone when she noticed the expression on Luke's face. "What is it?" she asked. "Are you not happy?"

"No, of course I'm happy," Luke said quickly, giving her hand a quick squeeze. "But...you fell pretty hard Lorelai, and the doctors aren't sure if the baby is okay."

Lorelai's face fell. She looked at Luke in disbelief, wondering why she had enough bad luck so that she couldn't even be happy that she was pregnant. Now she had to worry that she had killed her baby before she knew it even existed.

"They're coming to do an ultrasound," Luke said quietly. "So we can see if the baby's okay."

Lorelai didn't know what to say, she had too much floating around in her head and she looked at Luke with glazed eyes. "Do you want me to call Rory?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I want to see our baby," she whispered.

As if on cue, the door opened and a nurse wheeled a wheelchair in. "Here we go," she said. "The ultrasound machine is ready for you."

Lorelai sat up and the nurse helped her into the chair. When Luke began to struggle to his feet, she asked, "Would you like a wheelchair too?"

"No I'll be okay," Luke replied.

The nurse nodded, then began to push Lorelai's chair out of the room.

Ten minutes later, Lorelai was lying on the examination table in the ultrasound room, and Luke was sitting on a stool next to her. "The doctor will be in shortly," the nurse said as she smiled and closed the door behind her.

"Are you okay?" Luke asked Lorelai as he took her hand.

Lorelai looked at him. "I'm scared," she whispered.

Luke kissed the top of her head. "Me too," he whispered.

A moment later, the door opened and a doctor walked in. "Hello," he said. "I'm Doctor Roberts. You're Lorelai Gilmore and Luke Danes, correct?"

Luke and Lorelai both nodded and the doctor walked over to the sink. "Alright, we'll just take a quick look at the machine and see if we can see your baby," he said as he began to wash his hands. "I'll schedule a full exam for when you're feeling a little better."

"Okay," Lorelai said as he turned the machine on.

"Have you ever done this before?" the Dr. Roberts asked as he pulled out a case of gel.

"Twenty years ago," Lorelai replied. "So I'm a litle rusty. But this is the first time for Luke."

Dr. Roberts nodded. "Alright, I'm going to rub this gel on your belly and then we'll be able to see your baby," he said.

Lorelai winced as she felt the gel touch her skin, and Luke reached for her hand. She looked at him and smiled as he brought the hand to her lips and kissed it softly.

A moment later, Dr. Roberts was moving the wand over Lorelai's belly. He stopped it and froze the screen, then turned to the couple before him. "You see that spot on the screen right there?" he asked, pointing. "That's your baby."

"Is it okay?" Lorelai asked softly, her eyes fixed on the screen.

"I don't see anything unusual. Let me look for a heartbeat," Dr. Roberts replied. He fiddled with the machine, and a moment later a loud thumping echoed through the room.

Lorelai felt Luke's grip on her hand tighten and she turned her head to look at the look on his face. She smiled as she saw the expression of wonder and adoration there. "Hey, you okay?" she asked softly.

"Yeah," Luke replied. "I just...That's our baby."

"That's our baby," Lorelai agreed.

Luke smiled and leaned in to kiss her. "Thank you," he whispered a moment later. "I love you."

Lorelai reached up and stroked his cheek. "I love you too," she whispered back.

When they returned to Lorelai's hospital room after hearing Dr. Roberts' warnings and precautions to take during the early stages of pregnancy, Lorelai asked, "How was your appointment?"

"I didn't go," Luke replied, swinging his leg to rest on the second chair in Lorelai's room.

"What?" Lorelai cried. "Why not?"

"I was here," Luke replied. "I was scared, I didn't want to leave you."

Lorelai buried her face in her hands. "I'm a terrible person," she said. "I can't believe you did that."

Luke reached over and grabbed her wrists, bringing her hands away from her face. "You are not a terrible person," he said firmly. "I chose to do it, I chose to be here in case you needed me. I didn't want you to miss me if you needed me."

"Luke, you really shouldn't have skipped that appointment," Lorelai said. "It was sweet, but...I really need to know that you're going to be okay too."

Luke shrugged. "I'll reschedule," he said. "I'll be here with you anyways until you get out."

"Go now," Lorelai said.

"What?" Luke asked.

"Right now," Lorelai said. "It's late afternoon, I bet they have an opening."

"Lorelai, I missed the appointment," Luke replied. "It's not fair for me to sneak in when people are on time for their own appointments."

"Well you need to get that leg looked at," Lorelai replied. "I'll call for a nurse." She pressed the button for a nurse's assistance and keep pushing until someone came.

Luke sighed as he watched Lorelai pound on the call button, wondering what it was going to be like to raise a child with her. Before he could dwell on the thought too much, a nurse walked in and asked, "Do you need something?"

"Yes, my boyfriend missed an appointment for someone to look at his leg," Lorelai replied. "I want him to get another appointment as soon as possible."

The nurse smiled. "We can take you right now," she said.

"Really?" Luke asked in surprise.

"We were aware of this situation," she said. "So we were expecting you to reschedule your appointment for sometime soon."

Luke turned to Lorelai. "I guess I'm going," he said.

"Go," Lorelai said. "I hope everything turns out well."

Luke smiled and hobbled out of the room behind the nurse.

When she was alone in her room, Lorelai leaned into her pillows and ran a hand absently over her stomach. Luke's baby was safe inside of her, and she smiled as she thought that the most precious thing in the world to Luke was being cared for by her. "Hi baby," she whispered. "It's Mommy. I'm so glad that you're okay. You gave both your daddy and I a pretty big scare, but I'm guessing that you've inherited his tough survival skills. Your daddy's a great man, and I know that he can't wait to meet you. He already loves you so much, and you're so lucky to have him. He'll always be there for you, I promise. Even if he and I don't work out, he'll always be there for you. That almost makes me jealous, I wish that I had that same guarantee."

"Lorelai Gilmore!" an all too familiar voice said from the doorway, interrupting Lorelai's thoughts.

Lorelai's head snapped forward and she looked to the doorway, dreading who she would see there. "Mom?"

Emily marched into the room and stood hovering next to Lorelai's bed. "What happened?" she asked.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" Lorelai asked tiredly.

"What's wrong with you?" Emily demanded, ignorning Lorelai's question.

"There's nothing wrong with me," Lorelai argued weakly.

"You wouldn't be checked into a hospital if nothing was wrong," Emily replied. "Honestly, Lorelai, do you think that I'm that stupid?"

Lorelai sighed and closed her eyes, leaning her head against the pillows. "Mom, it doesn't matter," she said softly.

"How can you think that it doesn't matter to me?" Emily said. "I'm your mother, Lorelai."

"You obviously don't care that much," Lorelai replied. "You tried to break me up with Luke, the most important thing in my life, justso your reputation wouldn't be harmed. If you really cared about me, you would know that it doesn't matter, because Luke is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. A real mother would care about that, not her social status!"

Emily looked at Lorelai for a moment. "I'm sorry you feel that way," she said before she turned and walked out of the room. Lorelai sat still for a moment before her emotions got the best of her and she crumpled into tears.

When Luke returned to Lorelai's room ten minutes later, he found her curled up in her bed, crying softly. He was surprised at first, wondering what had happened. The sight before him broke his heart, and with a little trouble, he sat down on the bed next to her and pulled her into his arms. He stroked her hair as he let her cry quietly into his chest, wishing that there was something he could do to make her feel better. It broke his heart when he knew that she wasn't happy, and he hoped that it was something that he could fix.

**Next Chapter: Luke's leg begins to heal as he and Lorelai start to think about their future**


	9. The Future

**Okay, here's the next chapter. Keep the reviews coming, they help me figure out what's going to happen next!**

After a few minutes, Lorelai pulled back from Luke's arms. She smiled up at him with a weary face. "What did the doctor say?" she asked with a sniffle.

"Lorelai..." Luke said, not wanting her to shut him out.

"I'm fine," Lorelai insisted.

Luke studied her for a moment, but decided that if it was important she would tell him. And if not he would get it out of her anyways. "He said that I can get a walking cast at the end of the week," he replied. "And then a week after that I can get that off, but I'm going to need a lot of physical therapy."

Lorelai nodded. "I'm glad you're going to be okay," she said softly.

Luke looked at her closely. "Lorelai," he said, taking her hand in his. "What happened?"

"My mother came," Lorelai whispered so softly that Luke barely heard her.

Luke's eyes widened. "What did she say?" he asked.

Lorelai shrugged. "She was yelling at me," she said. "Even when I'm here lying in a hospital bed she finds something to yell at me about. I didn't even have the chance to tell her that I'm pregnant."

"Oh, Lorelai," Luke pulled her close to his chest, wishing that he could take all of her pain away. She'd been through a lot the past couple of weeks, and most of it was his fault.

Lorelai buried her face in Luke's chest, gripping handfuls of his shirt as she tried to forget. "Why can't she just care about me?" she whispered.

Luke held her tighter and kissed the top of her head, not knowing what to say.

"Mom?" Rory's voice coming from the doorway made both Luke and Lorelai turn. Lorelai's eyes brightened a little, and she wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. "Hey, kiddo."

"What's wrong?" Rory asked, tentatively coming closer.

Lorelai shrugged. "I just got a little overstressed," she replied.

Rory eyed her suspiciously but decided to let it go. "What a pair you two make," she said. "When are you getting out of that thing, Luke?"

"As soon as possible," Luke replied as he reached for his crutches. "Do you guys want some time alone?"

"No!" both Lorelai and Rory cried. Lorelai grabbed his hand and Rory smiled at him.

"You and my mom are back together, and that means that you have to deal with me too," Rory said as she sat down in a chair.

"You're the easy one to get along with," Luke replied.

"Hey!" Lorelai said, smacking his arm.

Luke rolled his eyes and ignored her otherwise. He cleared his throat and said, "Uh, Rory, we have some news for you."

Rory looked from Luke to Lorelai, a little scared as to what they were about to tell her. "Are you okay?" she asked Lorelai fearfully.

Lorelai smiled and reached out to take her daughter's hand. "I'm fine," she said. "It's nothing bad at all."

"Then what is it?" Rory asked anxiously.

"I'm...pregnant," Lorelai replied. "I'm going to have a baby with Luke."

There was silence in the room for a long moment as Rory processed the information. "Pregnant," she repeated, almost to herself.

Lorelai nodded, and Luke could see the fear in her eyes that Rory was going to be upset. He squeezed her hand, assuring her that he was there for her no matter what.

Rory suddenly jumped out of her seat with a squeal of delight and leaned over Luke to hug her mother. "This is so exciting!" she cried.

"Then you're not upset?" Lorelai asked, relief filling her body.

Luke smiled as Rory turned to hug him. He put his arms around her for a moment, savoring the feeling of holding the closest person he had to a daughter in his arms. When Rory pulled back, she frowned and looked at them

"Of course I'm not upset," she said. "I'm going to bea big sister, for real this time. Why in the world would that upset me?"

"You were pretty quiet there for a minute, kiddo," Lorelai replied. "I thought you were going to flip out."

Rory couldn't keep the smile off of her face as she sat down again. "It just took me a minute to process, that's all," she said. "So when do you get out of here?"

"Tomorrow morning," Lorelai replied. "Assuming everything stays as it is now."

"I'll come pick you up," Rory said.

Lorelai shook her head. "You don't need to do that," she said.

"Mom, how else are you going to get home?" Rory asked, rolling her eyes at Lorelai's stubborn attitude. "Luke certainly can't drive with that cast."

"I'm perfectly capable of driving," Lorelai replied. "I'm pregnant, not disabled."

"You've been on an IV," Rory replied. "They won't let you drive."

Lorelai leaned back against the pillows and sighed. "Fine," she said. "Be here by eleven."

"Okay," Rory stood and leaned down to kiss her mother on the cheek. She then surprised Luke by kissing him on the cheek as well. "I should get back to school. I'm glad you're both okay."

"Bye hon," Lorelai said. She leaned her head against Luke's shoulder as she watched Rory leave, then looked up at him. "Do you think the hospital would get mad if I ordered a pizza?" she asked.

**XXXXXXX**

The next morning, Rory walked into Lorelai's hospital room a little before eleven and smiled when she saw Luke sitting next to Lorelai's bed, holding her hand as they talked.

"Hey," she said. "I brought you some clothes."

Lorelai smiled as she started to get out of bed. "Thanks, hon," she said. "I won't be able to wear them much longer."

Rory rolled her eyes and pointed to the bathroom. "Just change," she said as she sat down on the edge of the bed, across from Luke. When Lorelai closed the door to the bedroom, she looked at him and sighed. "I feel like I was just here doing this with you," she said.

Luke shrugged. "I'm almost glad that accident happened," he said. "Otherwise I probably wouldn't be back together with your mom, and she probably wouldn't have told me about the baby."

"Yeah, I'm really glad that you guys are back together," Rory said, nodding in agreement. "I've never seen my mom so happy as she is with you."

Rory paused fora moment, then looked back at Luke. "Luke?" she said softly. "Do you want to marry my mom?"

Luke sighed and looked at the ceiling. He'd been tossing that question around in his head for the past week, but he hadn't been expecting to have to voice his thoughts so soon.

"But?" Rory prompted.

"I don't want to pressure her into anything," Luke replied. "I mean, we just got back together, and the baby is on it's way...I just don't know if now would be a good time to add another thing onto her plate."

Rory looked at him closely. "You think she's going to say no," she stated.

"What?" Luke asked in surprise.

"You're scared," Rory replied. "Luke..."

Before she could go on, Lorelai emerged from the bathroom in jeans and a sweater. "Alright, let's hit the road," she said. She saw the serious expressions on Luke and Rory's faces and asked, "Okay, what did I miss?"

"Nothing," Rory replied quickly. "If you're ready, let's go."

Lorelai walked over to Luke, who was starting to stand up and asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Luke replied. "You're feeling okay?"

"Great," Lorelai replied. "Let's go."

**XXXXXXXX**

Two hours later, Lorelai and Luke were sitting on the bed in the living room, eating take out that Liz had brought over from the diner and talking. When Lorelai had finished her burger, she set her plate on the table and said, "Luke, can we talk?"

Luke put down his fork and looked at her, knowing that a serious conversation was on its way. "Sure," he said. "About what?"

"About...us," Lorelai replied. "And the baby. I mean, how is this going to work?"

"Well, we already decided to live together," Luke replied. "And once my leg gets better, I'm going to move all my stuff in."

Lorelai nodded softly. "Yeah, I know," she said.

"Hey," Luke said, taking her chin in his hands. "What's going on?"

"I just...Do you think we'll last?" she asked softly. "I mean, I know that we're going to be living together and having a baby, but...that doesn't really guarantee anything."

"Lorelai," Luke said firmly. "Listen to me. I was miserable without you. And I never want to be without you ever again. I'm ready to make thisa permenant arrangement. All you have to do is say the word, and I'll go out and marry you right away."

Lorelai looked up at him and smiled softly. "I want you to surprise me," she whispered. "I just...knowing that it's coming makes me feel secure, you know?"

Luke leaned forward and kissed her. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," Lorelai replied. She frowned down at his cast. "You know, this thing sure inhibits us from doing everything we should be doing."

Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "What are you talking about?" he asked, not sure he wanted to know.

"Well, you can't drive, you can barely walk, you can't work," Lorelai started. "And then we should have had lots of sex this week," she continued, making Luke groan in response. "I mean, we got back together, we found out we're having a baby, we decided to move in together, and we just got sort of pre-engaged. That would have been lots of fun."

"Stop," Luke begged. "Right there, that was too much."

Lorelai giggled. "Don't worry, hon," she said. "By the time you get that cast off, it will be the stage of my pregnancy where the hormones are raging. We can make this week up then."

Luke squirmed around uncomfortably, trying to find a position that would accomodate his arousal better.

"Wow, it's getting hot in here," Lorelai said, fanning herself with her hand. "I think I'm going to go take a nice, cold shower."

"Lorelai!" Luke cried as she stood and began walking over to the stairs. "You are an evil evil woman."

Lorelai shrugged. "You love me," she said as if that proved everything before she disappeared up the stairs, her laughter trailing behind her.

It took Luke a few minutes to calm himself down, but when he had finally done so, he reached for the phone and dialed Liz's cell phone number.

"Hey Liz, it's Luke...fine, but I need you to do mea favor..."

**Next chapter: What doesLuke need from Liz? We figure out after Luke gets his cast taken off and takes Lorelai out.**


	10. Worries and Questions

**Thanks for all the support, I really appreciate it. This may be the last update for awhile, I'm going on vacation for two weeks starting tomorrow. Leave me some reviews to come home to! **

"Alright, Luke," his physical therapist said as Luke finished his first therapy session. "You did well today, don't get discouraged. It will take some time for your leg to become normal again."

"Thanks," Luke said as he reached for his crutch. Since having his cast off, he would only have to use one to lean on until his leg was fully healed. He walked out into the waiting room and smiled at Lorelai. "I'm all set," he said.

"Good." Lorelai stood and leaned up for a kiss. "How does it feel?"

"It hurts," Luke replied. "But at least that damn cast is off."

Lorelai frowned. "Well, at least you have a positive attitude about this whole thing."

"Can we please just get out of here?" Luke asked. "I-"

"Hate hospitals, I know," Lorelai finished for him. "Let's go before you have a heart attack."

Luke smiled as she took his free hand in hers and walked out of the physical therapy office slowly with him.

"Are you working this afternoon?" Luke asked when they were on the road back to Stars Hollow.

"No, I took the whole day off because I figured you might need some attention after getting the cast off. I didn't know if it would be hurting or not, so I figured it would be better for me to stay home with you."

"You know, it doesn't really hurt _that _badly," Luke said with a slight grin on his face.

Lorelai glanced at him suspiciously for a moment. "What are you thinking about, burger boy?"

Luke shrugged. "Nothing," He replied. Lorelai saw him shift slightly in his seat and smiled.

"Ah, I know what you want to do this afternoon," she said. "We never did get to have that make up sex. Or the sex after we found out I was pregnant sex. or the-"

"I get it," Luke said.

Lorelai laughed. "I just meant that I think it's a good idea," she said.

Luke swallowed hard and nodded, trying to focus his mind on something besides Lorelai until they got back to the house.

When Lorelai finally pulled into the driveway, she turned off the engine and she could have sworn that she could hear both hers and Luke's hearts beating. The sexual tension in the car was extrememly high, and it was all Lorelai could do not to shove Luke into the backseat and make love to him right then and there.

"So, do you need help getting out?" Lorelai finally asked.

"Uh, no I think I'm okay," Luke replied.

Lorelai nodded as she got out of the car and waited for Luke at the hood. She smiled and slid her arm through his as they made their way up the porch steps. When Lorelai opened the door, she looked around the house nervously, trying to figure out what to say.

Before she could figure anything out, Luke's lips were on hers and she felt herself being pulled against him. After a moment, she was drawn into the kiss. She wrapped her arms tightly around Luke's neck, trying to deepen the kiss.

After a moment, Lorelai pulled back and rested her forehead against Luke's. "We should take this upstairs," she whispered.

"Good idea," Luke replied. Lorelai took his hand and led him to the stairs, letting him lean on her as they made their way up. When they reached her bedroom, Lorelai closed the door and smiled at Luke, who was lying on her bed.

"Hi," she whispered.

"Hi," Luke replied as he grabbed her hand and pulled her to lie next to him on the bed. He kissed her deeply, and after a moment, Lorelai rolled him over onto his back and sprawled across him. As she started to litter kisses down his neck and cheeks, he whispered, "Are you sure this okay for baby?"

"It's fine, Luke," Lorelai whispered. "What makes Mommy happy makes baby happy."

Luke smiled as he brought Lorelai's lips down to rest on his again.

**XXXXXXX**

An hour later, Lorelai was lying at Luke's side, both of them breathing heavily as they recovered from their intimacy of the past minutes.

"Oh my God," Lorelai whispered as she sprinkled kisses over Luke's chest. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," Luke replied.

Lorelai leaned her head on her hand and asked, "You didn't practice with anyone while we were broken up, did you?"

"No," Luke replied. "Believe me, there's no way that I would have done anything with anyone else."

"Good." Lorelai settled at his side again.

"You didn't...practice at all, did you?" Luke asked, dreading the answer.

"No," Lorelai replied. "It was hard for me to even go out of the house, let alone go out on dates."

"Good," Luke replied. "I mean, not good that you were lonely, but I'm glad that you didn't do anything with anyone else."

Lorelai smiled and looked at the clock across Luke's chest. "What time is Liz coming over for dinner?" she asked.

" Five," Luke replied, running a hand through Lorelai's hair and placing a kiss on the top of her head.

"It's four thirty," Lorelai replied.

"So we can stay in bed for another fifteen minutes," Luke said.

Lorelai smiled and kissed his forehead. "Maybe you can," she replied. "But you know how long it takes me to get ready to go anywhere."

Luke laughed and released her from his arms. He smiled as he settled into the pillows and watched Lorelai walk across the room to her closet naked. After a moment Lorelai said over her shoulder, "Take a picture, it'll last longer."

"It won't be as good as the original," Luke replied immediately.

Lorelai smiled. "Flattery will get you nowhere," she said as she disappeared into the bathroom.

Luke started to move off the bed, remembering his disabled leg for the first time that afternoon. He winced in pain, then reached for his clothes, slowly getting dressed.

Fifteen minutes later, Lorelai was blow drying her hair when Luke knocked on the door. "I'm going to go down and wait for Liz," he said.

"Okay," Lorelai replied. A moment later, the blow dryer clicked back on.

Luke made his way down the stairs, and before he could sit down there was a knock on the door. When he opened it, he smiled into the face of his sister. "Hi, Liz."

"Hey big brother," Liz said as she walked into the entryway of the house. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Luke replied as he followed her into the living room.

"Of course I brought it," Liz replied. "Crippled or not, you could do some serious damage to anyone who ruined any of your plans for this."

"Let me see it," Luke said impatiently, wanting to see if his mother's diamond engagement ring would need any adjusting to become Lorelai's.

"Calm down, Luke," Liz said as she watched Luke open the small jewelry box with trembling hands.

Luke sighed and sat down on the couch, looking down at the ring in his hands. "I don't know what the hell is wrong with me, Liz," he said. "I just…I don't know how to do this."

Liz sat down next to him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Lorelai is going to love it," she said softly. "Don't be nervous, just be Luke."

"I'm going to love what?" Lorelai asked, walking down the stairs with a smile on her face.

Luke looked at Liz with pleading eyes, not knowing what to say.

Liz smiled as she stood and hugged Lorelai. "I was just telling Luke that TJ is sick, and I can't stay for dinner," she said. "So I told Luke that you two should have a nice, romantic dinner together.

"Oh," Lorelai replied, a little disappointed at not seeing Liz, but looking forward to having the night alone with Luke.

Luke smiled brightly at Liz, thankful for her quick thinking.

Liz hooked her arm through Lorelai's. "So my brother tells me that you're pregnant with my niece or nephew," she said as she began to walk towards the front door.

Lorelai smiled as she rubbed a gentle hand over her belly. "Yeah, Luke junior is kicking around in here," she said, giggling when she heard Luke groan in protest.

When Lorelai returned to the couch a few minutes later, she sat down next to Luke and looked at him. "Luke?" she asked sweetly, looking at him closely. She could tell that he was deep in thought about something.

"Hmm?" Luke asked, thinking about the ring that was burning a hole in his pocket.

"Liz was supposed to bring us dinner, but she didn't," Lorelai said. "So we should go out."

Luke sighed and leaned his head against the back of the couch. "Lorelai, I'm tired," he said.

"Come on, Luke," Lorelai said, tugging on his arm. "You aren't going to refuse the mother of your only child anything, are you?"

"You're going to do that for the rest of your pregnancy, aren't you?" Luke asked.

"Of course," Lorelai replied with an eye roll. "It's pretty much the only perk. Not that I can't get you to do whatever I want by putting on that leather skirt and flipping my hair."

"All right, let's go," Luke said, trying not to think about her hair flip and the effect that it had on him.

"Thank you," Lorelai said, kissing Luke softly on the forehead before she helped him off of the couch and into the car.

XXXXXXXXXX

An hour later, Luke was staring at the table as Lorelai babbled away about something. Seeing that Luke was lost in her own little world, she decided to change the subject. "So I talked to the doctor today," she commented. "She said I'm having triplets."

"What?" Luke asked, suddenly snapping back to attention. "Three babies?"

Lorelai smiled and reached out to take his hand. "I had to get you to pay attention somehow," she said softly.

Luke sighed and looked down at their joined hands. "Sorry," he said softly.

"Seriously, Luke, what's going on?" Lorelai asked. "You've been distant ever since Liz came over."

Luke sighed and looked at her for a moment before he said, "You remember that night that you got home from the hospital?" he asked. "We talked about our future?"

Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him. "Yeah," she said. "What about it?"

Luke reached into his pocket and pulled out the box with the engagement ring. "I want to marry you, Lorelai," he said.

Lorelai gasped as she laid eyes on the princess cut diamond, then raised her gaze to meet Luke's. "Yes," she said softly.

Luke looked at her, his eyes sparkling. "Yes?" he asked to confirm.

Lorelai nodded and smiled brightly. "Yes," she said again.

Luke smiled as he reached out to slip the ring onto Lorelai's finger. He pulled her close to him and kissed her passionately before pulling her into a tight hug.

"Oh my God," Lorelai said as she buried her face into Luke's shoulder. "I can't believe that this is happening."

Luke pulled back and kissed the top of her head. "I love you," he whispered into her hair.

"I love you too," Lorelai whispered. She pulled back and looked at the ring. "I love this ring too."

"Do you want to get out of here?" Luke asked. He wanted to tell her about the ring when they were alone.

Lorelai nodded, and turned to grab her purse that was slung over the back of her chair.

Luke reached into his pocket and put some money on the table, then reached for his crutch. Lorelai smiled and took his arm, walking slowly out of the restaurant with him.

Once they were in the jeep, Lorelai reached over and took Luke's hand, not letting go for the rest of the drive. When they reached Stars Hollow, Luke cleared his throat and said, "Uh, would you mind stopping at the diner?"

"The diner?" Lorelai asked, wrinkling her nose. "Can't we just go home?"

"Just do it," Luke said, pointing to the main road in Stars Hollow.

Lorelai sighed and pulled the jeep into a parking space across from the diner. She got out and hurried to help Luke, although he didn't need to lean on her as much as he had in past weeks.

When they opened the door to the diner, Lorelai was shocked to see Rory, Lane, Jackson, Sookie and Logan standing in the middle of the diner. Rory smiled and threw herself into Lorelai's arms. "Congratulations, Mom!" she cried.

"Oh my God!" Lorelai cried. She wrapped her arms around Rory. "How did you guys know?" she cried.

Rory laughed as she pulled away from Lorelai. "It was Luke's idea," she said. "Mom, you're getting married to someone who cares about you more than anything in the world."

Lorelai turned to Luke, who had seated himself at a table next to the window. "I can't believe you did this for me," she said softly.

Luke shrugged as he reached out and took her hand, pulling her close to him. "I want you to be happy," he replied with a smile.

Lorelai dropped onto Luke's lap. "Thank you," she whispered, leaning down to kiss him.

Luke kissed the top of Lorelai's head. "You're welcome," he replied.

Lorelai smiled as she looked around the room. She was sitting with the man she loved, his child safe inside of her. Her daughter was standing next to her, admiring her ring, and all the other people she cared most about were surrounding her as well. Life couldn't be more perfect.

**Next Chapter: Emily visits and exchanges words with both Luke and Lorelai.**


	11. Arguements

**Sorry it's been so long. I've been in Disney World! lol, this chapter is more of a filler than anyting else, even though there's a cliffhanger. I've got a little bit of writer's block, so if you have any ideas for this story, I'd be happy to get your input!**

The next morning, Luke was at physical therapy and Lorelai was upstairs, getting ready to head to the inn. She was slipping into her shoes when she heard a knock on the door. With a frown, she looked at the clock and wondered who would be coming to her house at nine o clock in the morning.

"Mom!" she exclaimed when she saw Emily standing on the porch outside the front door. "What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like?" Emily asked. "I came to talk to you."

Lorelai sighed and leaned up against the open door, waiting for Emily to start lashing out at her. After a few moments of silence, she prodded, "Well? Aren't you going to yell at me for something?"

"Honestly, Lorelai, didn't I teach you any manners?" Emily replied with an exaggerated eye roll. "Aren't you going to invite me in?"

When Lorelai stood stubbornly in front of her with her arms crossed over her chest, Emily rolled her eyes again and pushed past Lorelai, walking towards the couch. "Some coffee would be nice," she called over her shoulder.

Lorelai cursed under her breath as she closed the door and followed Emily into the living room. "Mom, I have to get to work," she said. "What is it?"

"You own that inn, Lorelai, I'm sure Sookie won't mind if you're a few minutes late," Emily said. She spotted the pile of magazines on the table and frowned at the title on top. She reached for it and when Lorelai saw what she was reaching for, she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to imagine she was somewhere else.

"Fit Pregnancy!" Emily exclaimed. "Lorelai! Are you pregnant?"

Lorelai sighed, then nodded slowly. "Yes, Mother," she said.

"And it's Luke's baby," Emily stated, more than asked.

"Of course it's Luke's baby," Lorelai snapped. "You want to know what else? Luke and I are getting married. And he's living here, with me. What do you have to say to that, Mother?"

Emily rose to her feet angrily. "Lorelai, I would have thought that you learned your lesson twenty one years ago, but apparently you still can't even be responsible. What about Rory? What kind of example are you setting for her?"

"Rory is twenty years old!" Lorelai cried. "And she's known for a long time that I got pregnant with her when I was sixteen, and I knew that was wrong."

"So you go and do the same thing twenty years later!" Emily replied. "Lorelai, this is ridiculous. I would have thought that you might want to settle down, get married, but I see that you learned nothing from your mistake."

"Mother, I am thirty seven years old!" Lorelai yelled. "I own an inn, I have raised a fantastic daughter by myself, and I'm in love with a fantastic man who loves me back. I'd say that I did a pretty damn good job establishing my life!"

"And now you're going to throw all of that away because you got pregnant again," Emily countered. "At least this time you're marrying the father and taking at least some of the responsibility for your actions!"

Lorelai stared at her mother, having no idea how to respond. She might as well have been slapped in the face, she thought as she felt tears brimming in her eyes.

"Leave," a voice said from the doorway.

Lorelai and Emily both turned, startled to see Luke standing in the doorway to the living room. Lorelai rushed to him as soon as she saw him and buried her face in his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry."

Luke tightened his arms around her, understanding that she was upset and she needed him. He didn't let his gaze fall from Emily, as if silently asking her why she hadn't complied with his simple request.

"Leave," he repeated.

"How dare you think you can talk to me like that!" Emily replied haughtily. "This is my daughter's house!"

"And you just upset her," Luke replied. "I want you to leave."

Emily looked from Lorelai to Luke, and saw how much she had upset both of them. Her face softened. "I'm sorry," she said stiffly. "Lorelai."

"Please go, Mom," Lorelai said softly. "I'll call you when I'm ready to talk."

Emily stared at them for a moment before she moved towards the door.

Luke pulled Lorelai close to him for a moment before he planted a kiss on the top of her head and whisperd, "Lorelai?"

Lorelai pulled back and smiled up at him. "Thank you," she whispered. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't walked in when you had."

Luke smiled softly but pulled her with him to sit down on the couch. Lorelai shook her head when he pulled her to sit down beside him and sat down on his lap. Luke smiled softly, but asked, "Lorelai?"

"Hmm?" Lorelai replied, her lips busy kissing Luke's neck.

"What are you doing?"

Lorelai pulled back and looked at him. "Kissing you," she replied. "Wow, I must have been doing something wrong if you don't recognize it."

Luke gave her a look and she turned serious. "Sorry," she said.

"Why were you apologizing to me?" Luke asked. "You have nothing to be sorry for, your mom's the one who should be apologizing."

Lorelai lowered her head and slid out of his lap. Luke reached for her hand. "I just…the things she was saying, I want you to know that they're not true," Lorelai said softly. "I didn't marry Christopher when he got me pregnant because I didn't love him. But I didn't agree to marry you because I'm pregnant. I want to marry you, because I love you."

"I know," Luke replied. He sighed into her hair. "I just…I don't want you to feel like you have to apologize for anything. Lorelai, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me and I don't know what I would do without you."

Lorelai smiled softly as she leaned in to kiss him. "You know, I kind of like it when you talk sweetly like that," she whispered.

Luke smiled as he pulled her closer and rested his hands on her hips. "Really?" he asked as he lowered his mouth to her neck. "I guess I'll have to do it more often then."

Lorelai sighed in pleasure as she leaned her head back and allowed Luke to continue a path down her chest. "Just don't give up being the grumpy diner owner that I fell in love with," she whispered. "I'd still like him to make an appearance once in awhile."

"I do have a reputation to keep up," Luke mumbled, sliding his hands under Lorelai's shirt to stroke her back with his hands. She let out a gasp when she felt his hands on her skin, then smiled slyly.

"What do you say we take this upstairs?" Lorelai whispered in Luke's ear.

Luke looked up at her, surprised. "Really?" he asked. "I thought…I mean, it's the middle of the morning."

"It's the hormones, Luke," Lorelai explained. "And he who does the impregnating should help to control the hormones."

Luke smiled as he followed Lorelai up the stairs.

XXXXXXXXXX

Half an hour later, Lorelai lay on top of Luke, smiling slyly as she placed kisses along his bare chest. After a moment she disappeared under the sheets and continued kissing her way down his stomach.

"Aren't you tired?" Luke mumbled, sighing through the way she was nipping the soft flesh around his belly button.

A moment later, Lorelai's head poked out from the covers and she smiled up at him. "No," she replied. "Are you?"

Luke shook his head and pulled her back up to meet his lips. "No," he whispered through the kiss. "But it's never been…like that before."

Lorelai smiled as she reached out and smoothed his head away from his forehead. "Get used to it, babe," she said seductively. "It's part of the package."

"I like this package," he said, reaching down to rub a soft hand over her stomach. "Is Baby okay?" he asked.

Lorelai smiled at his concern, reaching down to cover his hand with her own. "Baby's fine," she replied. "Don't worry, you couldn't have possibly hurt it."

"Good," Luke replied. He looked up at Lorelai for a moment, reaching out to take a lock of her curly hair in his fingers. "God, you're so beautiful," he whispered.

Lorelai smiled shyly, burying her face in his chest. A moment later, Lorelai squealed as Luke flipped them over so that he was on top and kissing his way down to her breasts. When he began to trace his tongue along her sensitive flesh, Lorelai arched her back and let out a loud moan. Since she'd discovered her pregnancy, every time Luke touched her she felt a shock of electricity. Now, in bed with him about to make love to her, the pleasure was almost unbearable.

"Oh my God," she mumbled as she threaded her fingers through his hair. "Please Luke…don't stop."

Luke smiled against her skin, but they both froze when they heard the door open. Lorelai quickly pulled the comforter over her and Luke, not wanting whoever it was to see anything that they shouldn't. Luke stayed, frozen on top of Lorelai, his cheeks already flaming.

"Lor? Are you in here?"

Both Luke and Lorelai cringed as soon as they heard Christopher's voice and his face appeared in the doorway.

**Next chapter: What is Christopher doing at Lorelai's?**


	12. I love him

**Thanks for the feedback! To all of those who are worried, don't worry, I hate Christopher too. He isn't going to be a big part of the story. Keep the reviews coming, they help me a lot!**

When Christopher saw Lorelai and Luke lying in bed with horrified expressions on his face, he felt his face redden and his heart clench. He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't find any words.

"Uh…can you give me a minute?" Lorelai requested after a long moment.

Without a word, Christopher pulled the door shut and a moment later his footsteps could be heard descending the stairs. Luke immediately got out of bed and began to search the room for his clothes.

"Luke…" Lorelai said softly, sitting up in bed.

"What's he doing here?" Luke demanded, standing at the foot of the bed clad only in his jeans.

"I don't know," Lorelai replied. "I haven't talked to him since…you know, that night."

"I bet I know what he's doing here," Luke replied. "He wants to get you back. He knew that we broke up, but no one told him that we got back together. Or that we're engaged, or that you're pregnant with my kid. God, Lorelai, how can this be happening? Everything was going so well and now…"

Lorelai sat up in bed and pulled on his shirt. "Luke, you have to calm down," she said softly. "I don't know what Chris is doing here, but I promise, he's not going to ruin anything for us."

Luke looked down at her, so beautiful looking up at him with wide, concerned eyes. He sighed and put his arms around her, pulling her tightly against him. "Okay," he whispered. "I trust you."

"I love you," Lorelai whispered against his shoulder.

"I love you too." Luke replied, not releasing his grip on her.

"Please, don't be mad at me," Lorelai whispered in his ear.

"I'm not mad," Luke replied, planting a kiss on the top of her head to prove it.

Lorelai nodded and tried to pull away. "Luke," she said with a soft smile. "I have to go down there."

Luke sighed and let go of her. "Hurry," he replied.

"Do you want to come down with me?"

Luke shook his head. "No, I don't think I could be in the same room with that man without strangling him," he said, only half joking.

Lorelai smiled and turned towards the door. She sighed as she tightened her robe around her waist and walked down the stairs.

Christopher was pacing the living room when she reached the platform at the end of the stairs, and looked up when he saw Lorelai. He met her eyes, but didn't say anything.

"So…" Lorelai said, trying to figure out what he was doing in her house, interrupting her time with Luke.

"What are you doing, Lorelai?" Christopher cried. "With him. What about us?"

Lorelai blinked in surprise. "Us?" she repeated in disbelief. "Chris, there is no us. There hasn't been in about twenty one years."

"I thought there was a chance," Christopher replied. "After your parents' wedding renewal…"

"Chris, there was never any chance of me getting back together with you," Lorelai replied. "Even when Luke and I were broken up I never even thought about being with anyone besides him."

"But what about what your mom told me?" Christopher cried, wanting to understand why Emily had told him the day before that Lorelai had needed him.

Lorelai looked up sharply. "My mother?" she repeated. "Christopher, what does my mother have to do with any of this?" Before Christopher could respond, they heard the front door open and close.

"Mom? I got some movies that I thought would be appropriate to watch, but if you want to go shopping, we can start buying things for the baby…uh-oh." Rory stopped short as she entered the living room and saw her parents engaged in a heated argument.

Christopher looked to see Rory standing in the doorway. He sighed and looked at the ceiling for a moment before he met her gaze again. "Hi Rory," he said.

"Hey, Dad," Rory said softly. "Um, what are you doing here?"

"Wait, did you say baby?" Christopher asked, ignoring Rory's question. "Rory, are you pregnant?"

"Dad…" Rory started, a little scared of the way Christopher was advancing towards her.

"It's me," Lorelai said quickly, not liking the way Christopher was preparing to explode at Rory.

Christopher looked from Rory to Lorelai as if trying to figure out if she was telling him the truth or not.

"Chris, I'm pregnant," Lorelai said after a moment. "Luke and I are engaged, and we're having a baby."

"Lorelai, how could you do this?" Christopher cried. "Didn't you learn anything when this happened to us?"

Rory looked at Lorelai and could see the anger beginning to boil over. "It's different for Mom and Luke," she said softly. "They love each other."

Christopher sighed and dropped onto the couch and ran a hand over his face. "I can't believe that this is happening," he said, almost to himself. He sighed, then turned to Lorelai. "You really do love him, don't you?"

"Yeah," Lorelai replied. "I love him more than anything. I'm happy, Chris."

Christopher hung his head and clasped his hands together. "I'm sorry, Lor," he said. "I shouldn't have come here."

"It's okay," Lorelai said softly. "I don't think it was your idea."

"All right, I should get going," Christopher said, standing. "Bye kiddo," he said to Rory.

"Bye, Dad," Rory said as he passed her and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.

Lorelai dropped onto the couch and buried her face in her hands. "Why does this always happen to me?" she cried.

Rory sat down next to her and rubbed her arm. "What happened?" she asked after a moment.

"Well, Luke and I were upstairs…You know, entertaining Baby Danes, and well, your dad sort of…opened the door while we were…"

"Okay, that's enough," Rory said as she put her hands over her ears. "I've got the picture, but thanks."

Lorelai smiled, then leaned into the pillows. She frowned as she looked at the clock. "Shouldn't you be at Yale?" she asked.

"I don't have classes on Friday," Rory replied. "So I thought I'd come home and surprise you for a weekend at home."

"Oh," Lorelai replied with a nod. She opened her mouth to say something else but was interrupted.

"Lorelai?" Luke's voice came from the middle of the staircase.

Lorelai smiled and stood up. "He's gone, hon, you can come down," she said with a smile.

Luke walked down the rest of the stairs and smiled brightly when he saw Rory. "Hey, Rory," he said.

"Hey, Luke," Rory said. "How's the leg?"

"Good," Luke said. He turned back to Lorelai and asked, "Are you going to work?"

"Actually, I think I'm going to call Sookie and tell her I'm taking the day off to spend with my favorite daughter," Lorelai replied, smiling at Rory.

Luke nodded and looked from Lorelai to Rory. "What are you planning on doing?" he asked.

"I'm going to go put The Princess Bride in, and we're going to watch that," Lorelai replied. "Then we might go for the Godfather, or maybe Casablanca."

"Ah," Luke replied. "In that case, I'm assuming that you're going to sit in front of the TV all day and eat crap. Am I right?"

"Yes," Lorelai and Rory replied together. "Wanna join us?" Lorelai added.

"Well, then I think I'm going to go check in at the diner," Luke replied.

"Aw, are you sure?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah, I don't really want to sit here and listen to you two yak over The Princess Bride," Luke said. "I need to check in with Caesar anyway, I haven't really been going over there as much as I should."

Lorelai crossed her arms over her chest and looked up at Luke with a pout on her face. Luke rolled his eyes, praying to God that she wouldn't do the hair flip.

"Stop pouting, I'll be home with lunch later," Luke said.

"Fine." Lorelai said, uncrossing her arms but leaving the pout on her face.

Luke leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. Lorelai resisted at first, but finally relented and kissed him back, stroking his face gently.

Lorelai smiled against his lips as he whispered, "Take care of baby."

Luke straightened and looked at Rory. "Make sure she doesn't eat too much junk," he said.

"Bye, Luke," Rory replied. "I promise that she won't be returned to you harmed in any way shape or form."

Luke left and Lorelai turned to look at Rory.

"So, what should we watch first?" she asked, looking through the movies that Rory had brought with her.

Rory thought for a moment, tilting her head to the side as she considered her choices. "I'm kind of in the mood for Casablanca," she finally said.

"Good choice," Lorelai said with a nod of approval.

Lorelai set the movie up and settled into the couch with the remote in hand. "Ready?" she asked Rory. At her confirming nod, Lorelai pressed play and tossed the remote onto the coffee table.

"Mom?" Rory asked before the credits had even stopped.

Lorelai looked at Rory in shock. "Rory, have you been apart from Mommy for so long that you don't remember our movie rules?" she asked in disbelief.

"Mom, I'm being serious here," Rory replied.

"Okay, okay," Lorelai said. She reached for the remote and turned off the TV. "What's going on, hon?"

"When are you and Luke going to get married?" Rory asked.

Lorelai sighed and settled deeper in the couch. That thought had been rolling around in her head ever since she'd said yes, but she wasn't sure how she should ask Luke about it. "We haven't talked about it," she finally said.

"Well, are you sure about him?" Rory asked her. "I don't mean to not have any faith in you or anything, but considering your past relationships…"

"I'm really sure that I love him more than I've ever loved any other man," Lorelai interrupted. "And considering my track record with men, that is a legitimate question. We haven't really thought about a wedding, but I don't think there will be one any time soon."

"So you're going to wait until after the baby is born?" Rory asked.

"Unless we can come up with a way to throw a wedding together in six weeks," Lorelai replied.

Rory nodded. They were silent for a moment before she asked, "What about Grandma and Grandpa?"

"What about them?" Lorelai asked, pretending to play dumb.

"Are you going to invite them to the wedding?"

"No." Lorelai replied without pausing to think about it.

"Mom…" Rory started, wishing that she would give her parents a chance to be there for her.

"Rory," Lorelai replied. "My mother tried to break me up with Luke. She thinks that I'm being irresponsible by living with him, having his baby and marrying him. She sent Christopher over here to try and break us up again. She obviously doesn't want me to be with Luke, so why should I invite her to the wedding?"

Rory sighed. "I guess you're right," she said softly.

Lorelai stood and stretched her arms over her head. "Thanks, Rory," she said. "I don't know what I would do without you to talk to."

"I think Luke's going to be very happy to have you talk to him," Rory replied.

"And I'm going to make him crazy," Lorelai replied with a bright smile.

"Mom," Rory said as Lorelai started to walk towards the bathroom. Lorelai turned and looked at Rory expectantly. "Do you remember…when I was little and we planned our dream weddings?" Rory asked. At Lorelai's fond smile, Rory continued, "Well, do you think that's still what you want?"

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "That would be perfect," she said. "I'll talk to Luke about it when we start to talk about planning the wedding."

"Are you sure?" Rory asked, wanting to be sure that Lorelai knew what she wanted.

Lorelai nodded. "Can I go to the bathroom now?" she asked. "Your little brother or sister is already using my bladder as a squeeze toy."

Rory smiled and watched as Lorelai disappeared down the hall. She thought for a moment, then reached for her coat. "Mom, I just remembered that I told Lane I would stop by and see her at work," she called. "I'm just going to go grab a cup of coffee and I'll be back soon."

Without waiting for a reaction from Lorelai, Rory bolted out the door, eager to talk to Luke.

**Next chapter: Rory has a meaningful talk with Luke, and he brings the wedding up with Lorelai**


	13. He's my dad

**Leave me some reviews letting me know where you think this story should go! I'm getting major writer's block, and I'm open to any ideas.**

Rory burst into the diner and rushed to the counter, trying to catch her breath. "Luke!" she cried as she collapsed onto a stool.

Luke peered around the wall from the kitchen and his eyes widened when he saw Rory and the condition that she was in. "Rory!" he exclaimed. "What's wrong, is your mom okay? Did she drink coffee even though I told her not to, I knew that would make her sick…"

"Luke!" Rory cried, interrupting him. "Mom's fine, but Sookie and I have a plan."

Luke raised his eyebrows and looked at her dubiously. "A plan?" he repeated.

"Yes, a plan," Rory replied, nodding proudly. "About your wedding."

Luke looked at the ceiling and sighed. "What about the wedding?" he asked, knowing what was coming.

"We're going to plan it," Rory replied.

"What did your mother say about this?"

"It's a surprise."

Luke sighed, placing his hands on the counter and looking down. "Don't you think she'd want to plan her own wedding?" he asked.

Rory shook her head as she placed her coffee cup back on the counter. "When I was little, we used to fantasize about our perfect husbands and our perfect weddings," she explained. "We got to talking about that today, and I asked her if that was still what she wanted, and she said yes."

"And you remember everything?" Luke asked, wondering why he was doubting Rory's sharp memory.

Rory rolled her eyes and waved a hand in Luke's face. "Hello?" she asked. "Look who you're talking to."

Luke sighed and nodded. "I know," he mumbled.

"So what do you say?" Rory asked anxiously, leaning forward anxiously. "Can we do it?"

"Fine," Luke said, standing up straight and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Really?" Rory asked in surprise. From watching her mother try and get things out of Luke, she had been prepared to do a lot more pouting and maybe even cry a little. She knew that Luke hated when people cried.

Luke nodded. "All I want for the wedding is your mom to get what she wants," he said. "And it's not good for her or the baby to be stressed out, so I actually think this is a good idea."

"Oh, thank you, Luke!" Rory cried, running around the counter to hug him. "I'm so glad you're going to be my dad."

Luke smiled and hugged her back tightly. "I'm glad that you're my daughter," he replied.

"What's going on?" a familiar voice asked from the middle of the diner.

Luke and Rory both turned to see Lorelai looking at them with a smile on her face. "Just showing Luke how excited I am that you two are finally getting married," Rory mumbled as she sat down at the counter.

Lorelai smiled as she sat down next to Rory. "Well, I should have thought of this sooner kid," she said. "I finally got my coffee fix while Luke was distracted."

Luke's eyes widened. "Lorelai…" he warned. "I don't want my kid to be deformed. I've already accepted the fact that I can't keep you from killing yourself, but while you're pregnant with my kid…"

"Relax, Luke, I didn't really drink any coffee," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. "I just knew that you would get all crazy and overprotective."

"Damn right," Luke replied, leaning across the counter to kiss her gently.

"Well, what was going on?" Lorelai asked when she pulled back and took a fry off of Rory's plate.

Rory and Luke exchanged looks, then Luke said, "Rory was just telling me how excited she is to be a part of the wedding plans and how happy she is that we're getting married."

Lorelai looked at them for a moment, then her eyes filled with tears. She bowed her head and trying to hide her tears. "Mom, what's wrong?" Rory asked softly. Lorelai shook her head and began digging through her purse for a tissue.

Luke looked at Lorelai for a moment before he rushed around the counter and put his arms around her. Lorelai buried her face in his chest as he gently stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head. After a moment, Lorelai finally pulled back and wiped her eyes on a napkin.

"I hate these hormones," Lorelai said softly. "I'm sorry for getting all emotional."

Luke held Lorelai close and whispered, "Hey, it's okay. I know this is hard for you."

"I'm sorry," Lorelai said against his chest. "You hate seeing people cry."

Luke smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Lorelai, you're giving me a child," he said. "And if it happens that I have to hug you to make the tears stop, then I'll do it, because I love you and I love our baby."

Lorelai looked up at him. "Thank you," she whispered. She kissed him gently before she looked around the diner. "Where'd Rory go?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

During Lorelai's breakdown, Rory had taken the opportunity to slip out of the diner to talk to Sookie. She entered the kitchen of the inn and smiled. "Hey, Sookie," she said as she came up behind her.

Sookie looked up and grinned when she saw Rory. "Hey sweetie," she said. She looked behind her and asked, "Where's your mother?"

"She's at Luke's breaking down," Rory replied. "I figured it would take her a long time to feel good enough to come here, so I left Luke to comfort her while I snuck here."

Sookie smiled. "Good. Did you ask him about the wedding?" she asked eagerly.

"He said that we could do it," Rory replied. "As long as we stick to the plan."

Sookie squealed and hugged Rory tightly. "Ah, this is so exciting!" she cried.

"I know!" Rory replied as she hugged Sookie back. "I can't believe that my mom's getting married."

"I have the number of the wedding planner I used when Jackson and I got married," Sookie said as she walked to her purse and pulled a piece of paper out. "I thought if you and Luke were both happy with her, we could use her again."

Rory smiled and took the number. "Thanks," she said. "I'll call and set up a meeting."

"Where are you going to tell her to meet us?" Sookie asked.

"I think I can convince Luke to let us have some meetings in his office above the diner," Rory said with a smile.

Sookie frowned. "What about Lorelai?" she asked. "She's at the diner every free minute she has."

"Not if you're here distracting here," Rory replied.

"Ah," Sookie said, nodding in understanding. "Good idea."

"I'll call her right now," Rory said, holding up the phone number and stepping out the door.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After Rory called the wedding planner, she went to Lane's to say hi before returning home for dinner. She walked into the kitchen and rolled her eyes when she saw her mother hugging Luke from behind as he cooked something on the stove. As Lorelai pressed her lips against Luke's neck, Rory cleared her throat loudly and they both looked up at her in surprise.

"Hey, hon," Lorelai said as she detatched herself from Luke.

"Hi," Rory replied as she shrugged off her coat and tossed it onto the chair next to the door in her room. "Sorry if I interrupted something."

Luke blushed and shook his head as he turned away from the girls.

"How's Lane?" Lorelai asked as she sat down in the kitchen chair closest to where she was standing.

"Good," Rory replied as she sat down next to her. "Hey!" she cried as Lorelai grabbed her arm and prevented her to sit down.

Lorelai stood and said, "Do you mind if we talk in here?" she asked, walking into Rory's room.

"Sure," Rory said, following Lorelai into her bedroom and closing the door behind her.

"What was going on with you and Luke this afternoon in the diner?" Lorelai asked as Rory sat down on her bed.

Rory looked at Lorelai, wondering what she was talking about.

"I mean, I'm thrilled that you two get along so well and everything," Lorelai continued. "But…I could tell that there was more than congratulating him on the engagement. And besides, you already did that."

Rory sighed, deciding to tell Lorelai the truth about how she felt. "I've been thinking about Dad," she said softly.

Lorelai sat down next to her. "Rory, Christopher is your father, it's perfectly normal for you to be in contact with him, even though I'm engaged to Luke."

"And I was thinking…Luke's the one who's really been my _dad_," Rory continued.

"Rory…" Lorelai started. "I don't want you to think that Luke is a replacement. Christopher is your dad, and we all know that."

"He's my father," Rory corrected. "_Luke _is the one who has been my dad since I was nine."

Lorelai looked at Rory and smiled, trying to stop the tears from coming down her face. "That's so sweet," she said softly.

"I just…I don't need to think twice if I need Luke," Rory continued. "I know that he'll always be there."

"He is a pretty good guy, isn't he?" Lorelai asked with a smile.

"And I couldn't imagine you with anyone else," Rory replied.

Lorelai smiled and leaned forward to hug Rory. "I love you, kid," she said as she placed a kiss on the top of her head. After a moment, then pulled apart and stood up.

They walked back into the kitchen, and Luke looked up, immediately noticing Lorelai's slightly puffy eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked. "What happened?"

Lorelai smiled and walked over to hug him tightly. "Thank you for loving me," she whispered in his ear.

"Uh…you're welcome," Luke replied with a smile, kissing the top of her head. Lorelai smiled and pulled away from him, sitting down at the kitchen table. Luke walked back over to the counter, and was surprised when he turned around and Rory immediately threw her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly.

"Luke?" she asked against his chest.

"Yeah?" Luke replied, hugging her back.

"Thanks for being there," Rory replied. "For being my dad."

Luke swallowed the lump in his throat and patted her gently on the back. "My pleasure, kid," he whispered back.

Rory let go of Luke and sat down at the table across from Lorelai. Luke went to get the rest of the food, then sat down in between them. As she ate, Lorelai stroked a hand over her belly, wanting to include her baby in the wonderful moment she was sharing with her family. Rory and Luke were all that she really needed, and soon they'd have a baby and be married. For the first time in her life, she was happy.

**Next chapter: Lorelai discovers Luke meeting with the wedding planner and assumes the worst.**


	14. The Wedding Planner

The next morning, Luke woke up only a few moments before his alarm. He reached over Lorelai to turn it off, then leaned on his elbow and looked down at her for a moment. He brushed some hair out of her face and kissed her forehead, then slipped out of bed.

Half an hour later when he entered the bedroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, Lorelai rolled over and smiled at him. "Wow, what a sight to wake up to," she said slyly.

Luke smiled as he walked over to the bed and kissed her gently. "I didn't wake you, did I?" he asked.

Lorelai shook her head as she watched him walk back to the closet and pull out some clothes. "No, but your child has inherited your early morning habits," she said with a groan.

Luke looked over at her. "You can feel the baby?" he asked, walking over to her and resting a hand on her stomach.

"Yeah, but I don't think you'll be able to feel it," Lorelai said sympathetically. "It's just little flutters."

Luke looked disappointed for a moment before he walked back to the dresser. He put his baseball cap on and asked, "What are your plans for today?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Sookie invited a bunch of our business contacts to the inn for a late lunch, so I'll be stuck at the inn for the entire afternoon," she groaned.

Luke smiled, aware of the meeting with the wedding planner that he and Rory had planned that afternoon. "Well, it shouldn't be too bad," he said, hoping to encourage her.

"Maybe I'll try and sneak out to come see you at the diner," Lorelai said. "I hate it when I'm stuck at the inn all day."

Luke rolled his eyes. "It's not really that bad," he said. "You're the owner, I doubt it would look good if you skipped out early."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him. "You sound like you don't want me to come to the diner," she said accusingly.

Luke rolled his eyes, sensing another mood swing coming on. He turned around and saw Lorelai staring at him with her arms crossed over her chest. He walked to her and sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her. "Lorelai, I love when you come into the diner," he whispered. "But it would be selfish of me to let you leave an important day at work just so you could come see me at the diner."

Lorelai smiled up at him. "You know, you better watch your reputation," she said softly. "Because you're turning into an old softy."

"I am not," Luke replied, but he kissed the top of her head.

Lorelai smiled against his shoulder. "See?" she said softly.

Luke untangled himself from Lorelai and stood up. "I have to open the diner," he said. He leaned down to kiss her, then whispered, "I'll make you dinner tonight, okay?"

Lorelai nodded as she settled back into the covers. "I love you," she mumbled.

"I love you too," Luke said, walking out of the room and closing the door gently behind him.

XXXX

At two o' clock, Rory entered the diner and smiled at Luke as she took a seat at the counter.

"Hey, Luke," she said cheerfully.

"What the hell is that?" Luke replied, gesturing to the binder that Rory was carrying. The cover was hanging off, and there were papers hanging out of the edges. To Luke, it looked like a portfolio of a kindergartener's writing samples.

Rory smiled proudly. "I dug this out of my closet last week," she said. "It's our wedding plans."

Luke looked at the book for a moment, then pulled it towards him. He opened the cover and smiled when he saw Lorelai's familiar handwriting.

_Lorelai and Rory Gilmore_

_Our wedding plans as of October twenty seventh, 1994_

_Only the husbands remain to be determined_

Luke smiled as he looked up to Rory. "Only you two would plan your weddings this elaborately before you even meet your husbands," he said.

Rory frowned as she sipped her coffee. Before either one of them could say anything, a woman entered the diner in her late thirties, wearing a business suit. She looked around the diner, obviously looking for someone or something. With a frown, Luke leaned across the counter and asked, "Excuse me ma'am…can I help you?"

The woman smiled as she approached the counter. "Yes, I'm looking for Rory Gilmore," she said. "I am supposed to meet her and her future stepfather here to plan a wedding."

Rory smiled as she turned around. "Rory Gilmore, at your service," she said proudly. "And this…" she added, gesturing to Luke. "Is Luke. My stepfather."

"You're the wedding planner?" Luke asked in disbelief.

"And you're the groom," the woman said in equal surprise. She eyed Luke for a moment to long before she turned to Rory and held out a hand. "Meredith Swan," she said with a smile. She looked around the diner for a moment, then asked, "Is there anywhere we can go that is a little more private?"

Luke nodded and walked around the counter. "Just up those stairs, and through the door is my office," he said. "We'll be up in just a moment."

Rory was gathering the binder, her coffee cup and purse when Luke walked back to her. "Aren't wedding planners supposed to be old?" he asked.

Rory looked up at him in surprise. "What?" she asked.

"The last thing in the world I need is for someone to see someone like her coming down from my apartment in the middle of the day," Luke replied. "Since no one in this damn town can seem to keep a secret, Lorelai will definitely find out."

"Then why don't you just close the diner?" Rory asked.

Luke thought for a moment before he nodded. "I guess that will work," he said. "You can go on up, I'll tell Lane and Caser that they can take a couple hours off and lock the door."

Rory nodded and smiled as she walked towards the stairs.

An hour later, Luke was more grateful than he had ever been that he had left a six pack of beer in the fridge. With Rory and Meredith discussing centerpieces and minister choices, he needed a drink now more than he ever had.

"What do you think about napkins, Luke?" Rory asked.

"What about them?"

"What color?" Rory asked, rolling her eyes.

"Uh…" Luke hesitated for a moment and was grateful when Rory's cell phone rang.

"Hello?...Paris, calm down…" Rory stood and walked into the hallway, trying to hear Paris better.

Meredith smiled and leaned towards Luke, a little too close for him. "So how long have you been with this woman?" she asked.

"Uh…Lorelai and I have been dating for just about a year, but we've been good friends for more than ten," Luke replied.

Meredith frowned. "You were friends for a long time," she commented.

Before Luke could respond, Rory rushed into the room and grabbed her purse and her coat. "Luke, I'm really sorry, but there's an emergency at the paper. Do you think you guys could finish up and I'll call to schedule another meeting? I'm really sorry, but thanks so much for your help." She leaned down and kissed Luke on the cheek before she flew out the door.

"Wow, she's one busy girl," Meredith commented.

Luke smiled ruefully. "Yeah, she's a great kid," he said. "I couldn't love her more if she was my own."

"So…do you have any children of your own?" Meredith asked.

"Well, there's Rory," Luke said. "I watched her grow up, and in a couple of months, I'll be a father again."

"Your fiance's pregnant," Meredith commented.

"Yeah," Luke said proudly. "I can't wait to see that kid."

"I don't have any kids," Meredith continued. She looked at Luke for a moment before she leaned forward and planted a kiss on his lips.

Before Luke could respond, they heard the door open, and Lorelai stood before them with a look of heartbreak on her face. Luke stood and began to walk towards her, but she turned and ran down the stairs, climbing into her jeep before he could catch her. Cursing under his breath, Luke ran to his truck, pulling out his cell phone as he did. He'd already lost Lorelai once, and he wasn't about to lose her again, ever. With a hopeful prayer, he stepped harder on the gas as he made his way to Lorelai's house. When he reached the driveway, he slowed the car, his heart breaking at what he saw there.


	15. Deception

**Sorry for the confusion, but I fixed this chapter so it really is just chapter 15!**

Lorelai was a mix of emotions when she reached the jeep. Most there was hurt, but there was anger, shock, confusion and sadness all mixed in. How could Luke do this to her? After everything that had happened between them, she had been sure that this was it for her. He'd given her his mother's ring, she was pregnant with his baby.

As Lorelai parked the jeep and opened the door, the sudden realization of what was happening hit her.

Luke was cheating on her.

She had another failed engagement, another failed relationship.

She was pregnant again, and she wasn't going to marry the father.

Except this time she wanted to.

Weak in the knees, Lorelai crumpled to the ground and began to sob, burying her face in her hands. She couldn't remember the last time she had cried as she was crying now, and she didn't even hear Luke's truck pull up, didn't notice that he was there until he came up behind her and tried to put his arms around her.

Lorelai pushed herself away from him. "Don't touch me!" she screamed. "I trusted you! I loved you! I can't do this with someone who can't be faithful."

Luke watched in horror as she took off her engagement ring and handed it to him. "I'm going back to work," she said, looking at her shoes. "I want all your stuff to be gone by the time I get home."

"Lorelai…" Luke started. He wanted to tell her what had happened, but he knew that she was too upset. He should go with whatever she wanted right now and try to reason with her later. He closed his fist around the ring and stood in front of her.

"I don't want to see you, Luke," Lorelai said. "Please get out of my way."

"What about the baby?" Luke asked, knowing that it was the only real right he had to be with her right now.

"I'll call you when I get home from the hospital," Lorelai said. "Sookie can bring it to the diner for you to see."

Luke stared at her. "Lorelai, you can't do that," he said.

"I did it before and I can do it again," Lorelai replied.

"What about me?" Luke cried. "Don't you think this baby needs a father?"

"Rory turned out pretty well, didn't need Christopher too much," Lorelai replied.

"But he didn't want to be around," Luke said in one last desperate attempt to get her to listen.

"At least he didn't lie about it," Lorelai said. "He didn't want to be with us, but he told us instead of cheating."

"Lorelai…" Luke stood watching her as she got into her jeep and backed out of the driveway. He sighed and looked down into his hand where her engagement ring was digging into his palm, his fist having been closed so tightly around it.

Suddenly, he realized the intensity of what was happening. Lorelai was tough, but when she got hurt she didn't forgive easily. He didn't know what he could do to prove to her that nothing had happened.

He wasn't leaving, that was for sure. Even if she didn't let him in the house, he'd sleep in the yard. He'd camped enough to feel comfortable sleeping under the stars.

Luke staggered over to the porch steps and sat down, resting his head on his hands and letting the tears come.

XXXXXX

Lorelai was a mess when she returned to the Dragonfly. She turned off the jeep and got out, walking slowly towards the porch. Sookie flung the door open and demanded, "Lorelai, where were you? You just disappeared and I…" her voice trailed off when she saw Lorelai's tear stained face.

"I went to Luke's," Lorelai said softly, sitting down on the steps. "And the door was locked, which was weird, but I knew where the spare key was, so I used it because I thought that maybe someone was sick and I went upstairs."

Sookie held her breath knowing that Lorelai had walked in on Luke and Rory's meeting with the wedding planner. But why was she so upset?

"And he was kissing another woman."

"Lorelai, I know….WHAT?" Sookie stared at Lorelai, wondering if she'd heard her right.

"Some blond," Lorelai said miserably. "Younger than me, not pregnant. God, I don't know how this is happening. I was so convinced that he was different."

"Did he see you?" Sookie asked gently.

"He chased me back to my house," Lorelai said. "Tried to talk to me, but I didn't want to hear it. I gave him the ring back, told him I wanted him out of my house before I got home. And I said that I didn't want my baby to be around him."

"Lorelai," Sookie said softly. "Don't you think that's a little harsh, honey? Without giving him a chance to explain?"

"So what, he could tell me, he didn't kiss her, she kissed him?" Lorelai asked. "That doesn't matter. He let her kiss him. God, I don't even know who she is."

"I know who she is," Sookie said quietly.

"What?" Lorelai asked. She looked at Sookie, who was messing with her hands nervously. "Sookie, what's going on?"

"Well…it was Rory's idea," Sookie said. "She wanted to do something nice for you, surprise you. And she talked to me, and of course I loved the idea, but Luke didn't like the idea at first. She said she had to do a little convincing but he eventually agreed because he thought it would be better for you and the baby to have as little stress as possible."

"Sookie, what in the world are you talking about?" Lorelai asked.

"We were planning your wedding," Sookie said gently.

Lorelai stared at her. "What?"

"Rory came over with this…scrapbook that had plans you made for your weddings on her tenth birthday," Sookie said. "And that woman…she was the wedding planner that Rory and I hired. Lorelai, I'm sorry."

Lorelai buried her face in her hands. She was silent for a long moment, then said, "Thank you."

"What?" Sookie asked.

"Even if I don't have Luke anymore, it feels great to know that I have you and Rory," Lorelai whispered. "And it means a lot to me that you thought about me enough to know what I would want for my wedding."

"Lorelai, Luke loves you," Sookie said gently. "I don't know what happened, why Rory left or why the wedding planner was kissing him, but he's going to be distraught if he loses you. His baby too. Even though the baby's inside of you, it's still a part of Luke's."

Lorelai thought for a moment as she stroked a hand over her belly. "You're right," she said softly. She took a deep breath, then stood up. "I think I need to go talk to him."

Sookie stood as well and gave Lorelai a tight squeeze. "Good luck, sweetie," she said softly.

"Thanks," Lorelai said. She walked back to her jeep, and Sookie watched as she pulled out of the driveway.

Sookie rushed into the inn and dialed Rory's cell phone number. She hopped from one foot to the other, impatiently waiting for her to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Rory, we have a major problem," Sookie exclaimed.

"Sookie? What's wrong?" Rory asked, alarmed that something had happened to Lorelai or Luke, or some other beloved Stars Hollow citizen.

Sookie explained what Lorelai had just told her, wishing that she hadn't agreed to such a risky plan. "And she just left, she's probably there by now," she finished.

Rory had already turned around and was almost back to Stars Hollow. "I'm on my way over," she said. "I'll see what the damage is."

"Do you know what you're going to do?" Sookie asked.

"No, but I'm sure I'll figure something out," Rory replied.

"All right, good luck, honey," Sookie said. "Let me know what happens."

"Thanks," Rory said. "I will." She hung up the phone and concentrated on getting to Stars Hollow as quickly as possible.

XXXXXX

Before Lorelai went back to the house, she decided to go to the diner and see if the scrapbook she and Rory had made was still there. When she saw that Luke's truck wasn't parked out front, she opened the door to the diner and made her way up to the apartment. Sitting on the table, next to Luke's beer, was the open scrapbook and the notes that Rory had been making.

"Oh, Luke," Lorelai sighed, looking at the ceiling as she gathered the book in her arms. "How could you do this to me?"

With a sigh, she walked over to the couch, lay down and cried.

XXXXXX

Luke was still sitting on Lorelai's front porch an hour later, waiting for her to come home. She'd been gone a lot longer than he thought and she should have been home by now. Maybe she was at Sookie's. He decided to go inside and try calling her.

As he stood, Luke saw Rory's car pull up the driveway. She got out of the car and walked over to him, sitting down on the porch. "Are you here to make sure I'm gone?" Luke asked, looking down at her.

"No," Rory said, shaking her head. "I'm here because I want to know what happened."

Luke shook his head as he sat down next to her. "I didn't kiss her," he said. "She kissed me, but Lorelai won't listen to me."

"I bet she just needs time to cool off," Rory said.

"But she broke off the engagement," Luke said. "She doesn't want me to be involved in the baby's life."

"Luke," Rory said softly. "You know Mom. She gets upset, she says things that she doesn't mean."

Luke held out his hand and showed Rory the engagement ring. Rory gasped, then shook her head.

"It's may fault," she said softly. "I'm so sorry Luke, but I'm going to do everything I can to make this better."

"It's not your fault," Luke said, shaking his head. "You were just trying to do something nice for her."

"Yes, it is my fault," Rory said. "I just…I wanted Mom to have a dream wedding. And I wanted her to be able to have it before the baby was born so she could concentrate on the wedding without any distractions."

Luke nodded. "I get it," he said. "I just…I hope she'll come around," he said softly.

Rory put a hand on Luke's shoulder. "She was miserable without you, Luke," she said. "I've never seen her cry so hard in my entire life. She loves you, and she'll realize that she needs you."

Before Luke could respond, Lorelai's jeep pulled up and she got out of the car. Rory stood, Luke standing a moment after she did and shoving his hands in his pockets.

Lorelai walked towards Rory and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for thinking of me," she said softly. "I love you."

Rory hugged her mother back. "I love you too," she replied. "And remember that you love Luke."

Lorelai pulled back and handed Rory the scrapbook. "Take care of this for me, okay?" she said.

Rory nodded and walked up the porch steps into the house. Lorelai took a few steps closer to Luke and met his gaze, now knowing what she needed to say to him.


	16. Forgiveness and disappointments

**Sorry for the mix up on the last chapter, and thanks to those who pointed it out to me. I hope you enjoy this chapter, let me know what you think!**

"Hi," Luke said softly, trying to see how upset Lorelai still was.

"Hi," Lorelai replied softly. She sighed as she sat down on the steps and looked up at the sky. "God, Luke, how did we get here?"

Luke tentatively sat down next to her. "Lorelai…" he said softly. "You know that I would never…"

Lorelai shook her head. "Can you just let me say something?" she said softly. When Luke looked at her expectantly, she sighed and said, "I love you. And I know that there is probably an explanation for what happened this afternoon, but…I'm just not sure I can hear it. But…I think I did overreact this afternoon. I can't hold you back from seeing your baby. So…once the baby's born, we'll work something out. At first it'll need me a lot, but when it gets older, we can work something out. But I want you to come over whenever you want to visit, play with it."

"What about us?" Luke asked softly, his heart on the edge of breaking.

Lorelai sighed and looked up at the sky. "I just can't do this right now, Luke," she said. "I'll give you a schedule of my doctor's appointments, and you can come to those. And I'd like you to be there for the birth."

"So that's it?" Luke asked softly. "We're just…going to raise a child without being together?"

Lorelai sighed, reaching for his hand. "I love you, Luke," she said softly. "And I think a part of me always will. But for right now, there's just a lot that I need to work out. If I can really trust you, if I can be sure that this will work. If you can just give me that…maybe this will work out."

"Lorelai…" Luke wanted to beg her to stay with him, but he knew better. If he backed off a little, then maybe he would be able to be with her again. "All right," he said softly.

Lorelai let go of his hand and stood up. "So…I'm going to go in," she said.

Luke stood as well and nodded. "I guess I'll head back to the diner," he said. "I'll come get my stuff tomorrow, I guess."

Lorelai nodded and walked up the steps to the door. She opened it, then turned back to him and said, "I'm sorry, Luke," before she disappeared inside.

Luke sighed as he sank onto the steps once again. How was it that Lorelai had caught another woman kissing him, yet she was the one apologizing? As he stood, preparing to go back to the diner, he heard the door opened and turned around, daring to think that Lorelai had changed her mind.

Instead, he saw Rory. She was cradling a sleeping bag, a flashlight, and the wedding scrapbook.

"I thought you might want these," she said softly. "I think I'm going to stay home for a little while. Do damage control and try to talk some sense into her. And my bedroom is on the ground level, so if you want some tea or anything…just knock on the window, okay?"

Luke leaned forward to hug Rory. "Thanks," he said. "I'm glad that you're on my side."

Rory smiled. "Luke, this has meant a lot to me," she said. "Having you be with Mom is what makes her happy, and I want her to be happy. She just…needs time to get over this."

Luke nodded and held up the scrapbook. "I think I can figure out a way to make this up to her," he said.

Rory nodded. "I thought you'd figure that out," she said. "Good night, Luke."

"Good night," Luke replied.

When Rory reentered the house, she went upstairs to check on her mother. Lorelai was staring out the window, and when Rory approached her side, she said, "Luke's sleeping in our front yard."

"He doesn't want to leave you," Rory said softly.

Lorelai collapsed onto her bed. "He's sleeping in front of my house," she said.

"He's trying to prove a point."

"That doesn't change the fact that he kissed another woman," Lorelai replied. "The woman who was planning our wedding."

Rory sighed. "Don't make him wait too long," she said. "Luke's a patient man, he waited eight years before he asked you out…don't make it be another eight years."

Lorelai watched in shock as Rory walked out of the room, closing the door with a slam behind her. She stared at the closed door for a moment before she walked back over to the window. She saw Luke lying on his back in the sleeping bag, his arms folded behind his head as he stared up at the sky. She sighed, then moved from the window, to his dresser. She took a flannel shirt out of the drawer and clutched it to her chest as she sank onto the bed and buried her face in the pillow that smelled like Luke.

XXXXXX

The next evening, when Lorelai got home from the inn, she saw Rory sitting on the couch watching TV.

"Hey hon," she said as she dropped her purse on the floor and sat down next to her.

"Hi," Rory replied.

"Wow, you're very responsive," Lorelai said sarcastically. "What's wrong?"

"Luke was here," Rory said without taking her eyes off the TV. "He moved his stuff out and he wanted you to have this."

Lorelai took the envelope that Rory was holding out to her and walked towards the stairs. She entered her bedroom and looked around. Luke had taken his things, but he had left all of his furniture. With a frown, Lorelai ripped open the envelope and began to read.

Lorelai,

I know you're mad and upset, and I'll be lucky if you read past this point. But I took a chance, and I need you to know something.

I didn't, and nor have I ever, wanted to be with another woman. You are what makes me happy, and I know that no one else could possibly measure up to you. I waited for you, Lorelai, for eight years, and I'll wait for the rest of my life for you to forgive me.

If you do decide to forgive me, I want you to hang a rose from the chuppah. This way I will know that I can try to make things right between you and me. I don't want to push you into doing anything that you're not ready for, but I need you to know that I am ready for whatever you have to offer me.

I love you

Luke

By the time Lorelai was finished with the letter, she had tears streaming down her face. She'd known that Luke hadn't meant to hurt her, but the heartfelt confession of his unconditional love had left her speechless. Luke had never been that upfront about his emotions even with her.

She looked at the clock. It was eight thirty. Her mind flashed back to their first break up and how she'd given all her time to the inn. She was doing the same thing now, but the flower shop in Stars Hollow would be closed. By the time she got to Hartford, all the flower shops there would be closed as well.

"Oh Luke," Lorelai sighed. "I do love you."

XXXXX

The next morning, Lorelai was out of bed as soon as the sun came streaming through her window, and was the first customer of the day at the flower shop. She hurried home and tied the rose around the chuppah, hoping that Luke would see it soon.

Instead of going to the inn, she paced the house, looking out the window to watch for Luke's truck to pull into the yard. She imagined how it would be when he saw the rose…he would run towards the porch and she would swing open the front door and run into his arms.

But as the hours dragged on, and dusk gave way to darkness, Lorelai walked by the window fewer times and eventually gave herself up to lying on the couch and hugging a pillow close to her.

At midnight, Lorelai finally gave up on Luke and went upstairs. He hadn't come. Maybe he'd changed his mind.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

What Lorelai didn't know, was that during one of her frequent trips to the bathroom, Luke had seen the rose attached to the chuppah. With a grin that he was unable to suppress, he knew that everything was going to work out.

He had hurried back to the diner and locked himself in his apartment, pouring over the wedding scrapbook. He'd never realized how much detail was put into planning a wedding.

Luke wanted to surprise Lorelai, but he wanted her to know that this was a gift from him. He told no one that he was doing this.

He did it all by himself. He called the caterer, arranged for the flowers, reserved the gazebo for a private party, and arranged for a tux and dress, praying that Lorelai's stomach wouldn't grow too much before the big day.

Now all he had to do was hope that Lorelai would be patient and not expect him to make a move right away. This was too important to rush.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lorelai woke up the next morning, feeling worse than she had in a long time. She was hurt that Luke hadn't given her hardly any time to make things right, and now her chance was over with him. She hadn't slept much the night before, in her bed that still smelled of him, with his child nestled safe inside of her belly.

She looked at her calendar and sighed, knowing that she had a doctor's appointment today. It wasn't going to be easy.

She was going to see their baby today. She might find out if they were having a boy or a girl.

She had to tell Luke and pray that he would still want to be a father to this baby, even if he didn't have any interest in her anymore.

She had to go to the diner.

With a sigh, Lorelai got out of bed and reached for Luke's favorite pair of jeans, hoping that if she wore them, he might change his mind. She pulled them on, but when she tried to zip them, she realized that the baby was starting to grow. She threw the jeans across the room and reached for her favorite sweatpants instead. It was doubtful that Luke would even notice her anymore anyways.

Luke was wiping down a table when Lorelai opened the door. She closed it gently behind her and stood in the middle of the diner, looking uncomfortable. Luke straightened and threw the rag over his shoulder. "Hi," he said tentatively.

"Hi," Lorelai said shortly.

"Uh, is everything okay?" Luke asked, concerned.

Lorelai nodded. "Yup," she said distractedly.

"Can I get you something?" Luke asked, wondering what was wrong with her.

"No," Lorelai replied, looking around as if trying to find something to distract her.

Luke looked at her curiously. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked. "Is everything okay with the baby?"

"I have a doctor's appointment this afternoon," Lorelai replied.

Luke's eyes widened and he nodded. "Oh," he said.

"Are you going to be there?" Lorelai asked bluntly.

"Of course," Luke replied. "I mean, if you want me too, I'd really like to be there."

"Good," Lorelai said. "I mean, I want you to be there. For the baby."

"Uh, what time and where?" Luke asked as he walked behind the counter.

"Two thirty at Dr. Tompkins office in Hartford," Lorelai replied, her feet firmly planted in the middle of the diner.

Luke nodded as if committing that information to memory. "So I should pick you up around two?" he asked.

"I'd rather meet there," Lorelai said stiffly.

Luke looked disappointed, Lorelai noticed, but he nodded in acceptance. "Okay, that's fine," he said.

"Okay, I'll see you then," she said as she turned and started to walk towards the door.

"You don't want breakfast?" Luke asked, hoping to get her to stay. He missed having her eat at the counter, keeping him company with her endless chatter as he worked.

"I'm not that hungry," Lorelai replied as she turned and opened the door.

Luke frowned as he watched Lorelai walk out of the diner. She was wearing sweatpants. She must have been starting to get bigger, because he knew that Lorelai never left the house in sweatpants.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Luke entered the doctor's office at two twenty five that afternoon and was relieved to see Lorelai sitting in the waiting room. He walked over to her and said, "hey, I'm glad I'm not late."

Lorelai looked up, surprised from the issue of Fit Pregnancy that she had been engrossed in. "You scared me," she said, placing a hand on her chest.

"Sorry," Luke said softly as he slid into the chair next to her.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Lorelai returned to her magazine, and Luke looked around at the women in the room. Some of them looked like they were ready to go into labor any minute, and Luke realized that Lorelai would look like them in a few months. He began tapping his hands on his leg nervously, hoping that they would get called in soon.

"All right, I'll bite," Lorelai said a couple of minutes later, closing her magazine and looking at Luke. "Either you drank a gallon of Mountain Dew before you came here or you're nervous about something."

"Sorry," Luke said as he shifted in his seat. "I just…uh, I've never really been in this position before."

Lorelai smiled as she reached out to place a hand on top of Luke's. "I know it's scary," she said softly. "But you don't really have to do anything. I'm the one with the cheap deal here."

Luke smiled slightly. He was about to say something when a nurse appeared in the doorway to the back.

"Lorelai Gilmore," she called.

"That's me," Lorelai announced. Luke felt cold as she let go of his hand and stood, dropping her magazine on an end table.

Luke followed the two women into the back. After taking Lorelai's weight, the nurse led them to an examining room.

"All right, Miss Gilmore," the nurse said. "You can just sit on that bench there and change into the gown that's there, and the doctor will be with you shortly."

"Thanks," Lorelai said as she hopped onto the examining table.

The nurse smiled and closed the door behind her. Lorelai looked at Luke expectantly, who was standing in the middle of the room with his hands shoved in his pockets.

"What?" Luke asked.

"Could you turn around while I change?" Lorelai asked.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Lorelai, it's not anything that I haven't seen before," he said.

"Well, we're not together anymore," Lorelai replied. "And this doctor's appointment is uncomfortable enough as it is."

Luke sighed, knowing now that Lorelai was bitter about how he'd handled things the day before. His heart broke a little as he thought of Lorelai, waiting for him to show up at her doorstep with open arms, which he never did.

"Thank you," Lorelai said as Luke turned away from her. She changed as quickly as she could.

After a moment, Lorelai said, "Okay, you can turn around." Luke turned around and one word came to his mind. "Wow."

Lorelai blushed. "What?" she asked, resting her hands on her stomach.

"You're beautiful," Luke breathed. In the hospital gown, her stomach was noticeably bigger, and for the first time, Luke realized that she really carrying a new life inside of her.

Lorelai shook her head. "No, Luke, I'm pregnant," she said. "There's a big difference."

Luke swallowed hard as he focused on the small roundness of her stomach that housed his child. "Do you mind if I…uh?" he gestured to her stomach.

Lorelai looked up at Luke for a moment, seeing the desire on his face. She nodded and watched him carefully.

Luke stepped forward, tentatively pushing the soft material of the hospital gown away to reveal her golden tummy. He placed his hands on her skin and kissed it softly, then mumbled something that Lorelai couldn't hear and assumed was for the baby.

Lorelai felt tears coming to her eyes. She knew that she would not have any worries about Luke as a father. This moment proved that he would be the best father in the world for this baby. She reached down and covered one of his hands with her own, and when he looked up to meet her eyes, she pulled the hand to her mouth and kissed it gently.

Before either of them could say anything, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Lorelai said, her eyes still locked with Luke's.

The door opened and Dr. Tompkins entered the room. "Hello, Lorelai," he said.

"Hi," Lorelai said, still looking at Luke.

"And you must be…" Dr. Tompkins prompted Luke.

"Luke Danes," Luke said, shaking the doctor's hand.

"Nice to meet you, Luke," Dr. Tompkins said. He then turned to Lorelai and said, "let's take a look at this baby, shall we?"

Lorelai nodded and swallowed hard. She had to focus on the baby for now. She could focus on her and Luke later.

**Next chapter: What will the doctor have to say about Luke and Lorelai's baby?**


	17. Proposal

After the examination, which proved to be uncomfortable for both Luke and Lorelai, Dr. Tompkins turned on the ultrasound machine. "Everything looks good, so we'll take a look and see if we can get a heartbeat," he explained.

Lorelai looked over at Luke, who was standing across the room from the examining table, his hands shoved in his pockets. He was staring at the machine, head tilted to the side as if he was trying to see something on the fuzzy screen.

"Luke," she said softly, reaching out to him. "Come here."

Luke looked at her for a moment, but he was at her side, holding her hand in a split second. Lorelai smiled slightly at him, then they both turned their attention back to the machine.

"Alright, this might be cold," Dr. Tompkins said, squeezing gel onto Lorelai's slightly rounded belly. Lorelai gasped and squeezed Luke's hand a little tighter when she felt the coldness, but when Dr. Tompkins began running the wand over her belly, she began to calm down.

When Dr. Tompkins froze the wand on Lorelai's belly, a loud thumping echoed throughout the room. He turned to the couple and asked, "Do you hear that?"

Luke and Lorelai both nodded.

"That's your baby's heartbeat," Dr. Tompkins said gently.

Lorelai looked up at Luke, who had an expression on his face that she had never seen before. He looked happy, but at the same time, she could see him trying to hold back tears. She reached up and touched his cheek gently, meeting his eyes.

A moment later, they both turned their attention back to the machine when Dr. Tompkins said, "Look right there." He pointed to a tiny spot on the screen. "That's your baby."

"Oh my God," Lorelai muttered. She tightened her grip on Luke's hand as she felt tears beginning to form in her eyes. Luke stood, frozen as he looked at his tiny baby for the first time, safe in its mother's womb.

Dr. Tompkins smiled as he froze the screen and said gently, "I'll give you two a moment." He stood and walked out of the room, closing the door gently behind him.

As soon as they were alone, Lorelai turned to Luke and whispered, "Thank you."

"No," Luke said, shaking his head. "Thank you. Lorelai…this is just…the most amazing thing I've ever been apart of. Thank so much for letting me be here."

Lorelai opened her mouth to say something, but the door opened and Dr. Tompkins walked back in. Luke pulled away from Lorelai, both of them disappointed.

"Here are the pictures," Dr. Tompkins said, handing them to Lorelai. "You can stop in the waiting room to make your next appointment, about six weeks from now."

Lorelai hopped off the table and turned to Luke as the door closed. "So…do you want to come with me to make the appointment?" she asked. "That way you can be there too."

"Okay," Luke replied. "Maybe after we can grab a bite to eat or something."

Lorelai shrugged. "I have the jeep here," she said. "So it wouldn't really work."

Luke nodded, then reached for the door knob. "Okay," he said softly. "Well, I guess we'll just go back home."

"Sure," Lorelai said softly.

They made their appointment, at a time when both Lorelai and Luke could get off from the inn and the diner, and Luke walked Lorelai to her car. As she rummaged in her purse for her keys, Luke shoved his hands in his pockets and cleared his throat.

"Uh…look, Lorelai. I just want you to know that…well, if you need anything, call me," he said softly. "I know that I screwed things up, but…I still care about you. And not just because of the baby. I'll always love you, no matter what, and well…I just want you to be able to call me if you need help."

Lorelai stared up at him, too shocked to say anything. Rarely, even in their most intimate moments, had Luke expressed his feelings so openly. Now, here he was, doing it in the middle of the parking lot of the doctor who was caring for their baby.

"Luke…" she said softly. She took a deep breath. "Maybe you could come over sometime, and we could just talk about everything. Calmly, like adults."

Luke felt his heart leap. Maybe it wasn't too late for them after all.

"I'd like that," he said. "I'd like that a lot."

Their eyes met, and for a moment, Luke thought that she was going to reach up to kiss him. But then the moment was over and she was turning to get into the car.

"So…thanks for coming," Lorelai said. "I'm glad you were here."

"I wouldn't have missed this for the world," Luke said honestly before he closed the door. He walked over to the tuck and got in, following Lorelai home.

XXXXX

When Lorelai got back to the house, she dropped her purse in the corner, kicked off her shoes, and collapsed onto the couch. She thought about everything that had happened to her in the past couple hours. Despite the obvious joy of seeing her baby for the first time, she felt a mix of emotions.

She and Luke. Where did they stand? What exactly were they to each other? There had been so many moments where she thought she was going to give up and throw herself into his arms, but she hadn't.

She loved him. He loved her. They were having a baby together. This was the only things that she was sure of. But if she knew these things, why did anything else matter? Shouldn't they be together and work everything out as a couple.

Lorelai rolled onto her back and grabbed a pillow, burying her face in it as she let out a frustrated scream.

XXXXX

It was Friday afternoon, and Luke was cleaning the diner after the lunch rush. When the bells over the diner rang, he looked up and saw Lorelai walking towards him

"Hi," she said. "Listen…Rory's staying at Yale this weekend, so I was just wondering…maybe you'd want to come over tonight and we could watch a movie and have that talk. I mean… you don't have to, if you have plans already, but I just thought if you still wanted to…"

"I'll be there," Luke said quickly. "And I'll bring dinner."

Lorelai nodded, unable to disguise her pleasure. "Okay," she said softly. "I'll see you tonight."

As she turned and walked out of the diner, Luke stood in the middle of the room and watched her, daring to hope that maybe things would work out between them.

XXXXXX

Lorelai was standing in her bedroom at five thirty that night, squeezing in her belly as she stood in front of the mirror and tried to zip her jeans. She let out a frustrated yell as she discarded yet another pair of pants, searching for her jeans with the most give.

When she finally was dressed, she made sure that her hair was curled just right and applied more make up. She wanted to look nice for Luke, and she wanted to be ready when he got here.

She was descending the stairs as the door bell rang and she smiled to herself. Luke knew to be five minutes late, and she was actually ready before quarter after. They knew each other well, and she liked that.

"Hey Luke," she said with a smile as she opened the door. "How was the rest of the day at the diner?"

"It was fine," Luke replied. "Nothing too exciting."

Lorelai nodded. "Come in," she said. "You don't have to be shy here."

Luke smiled as he followed her to the couch in the living room. "I brought you a cheeseburger and fries," he said, setting the bag from the diner on the table. "But I'm only going to let you eat it if you eat the salad first."

Lorelai scowled, but she took the salad and the fork that Luke was holding out to her. "Fine," she snapped.

Luke smiled in amusement as he watched Lorelai shove a bite of salad in her mouth. "It's really not that bad," he said.

"I hope you know that I'm doing this for the baby and not you," Lorelai replied.

Their eyes met, and for a moment, it felt like they were back to their normal, bantering selves. Then Lorelai turned away and continued eating.

After they were done with their food, Lorelai turned to Luke and looked at him carefully.

"What?" Luke asked, a little uncomfortable under her glare.

"I'm giving you your chance to explain," Lorelai said simply.

Luke looked at her for a moment before he sighed and leaned back into the couch cushions. "Rory came into the diner one morning, all excited about planning a wedding for you…us. She showed me the scrapbook the two of you had made and said that she was sure that this was what you wanted. At first I thought that you would want to plan your own wedding, but then I thought that maybe it was a little better of an idea, if you were getting what you wanted, for you to be under as little stress as possible. So I said yes. And Rory called this wedding planner, telling Sookie to keep you occupied at the inn. So I figured we could meet in my apartment since at the time it was my office, and she and Rory began talking about all kinds of things…floral arrangements, dresses, china patterns…and I was just kind of there. Rory's cell phone rang, and this wedding planner…she was asking me all these questions, about you and Rory, and the baby. Then…I don't even really know how it happened. I just…Lorelai, you have to know that I would never do anything to hurt you. You have to know that."

Lorelai looked at him closely for a moment. "But you did," she said softly. "Luke, you left me. And when you left me, I felt weaker than I ever had before. Even when I was pregnant with Rory…I handled that better than I handled you walking out on me."

Luke sighed and leaned back into the couch. "I guess you're right," he said. "But I didn't mean what I said that day. In Doose's…I just needed some time to think things through."

Lorelai nodded. "I know," she said softly. "But I know that I'll always care about you. No matter what. You're the father of my baby. And…more than that too. God, I will never forget how terrified I was when I saw your truck get hit. I thought you were gone for good."

"I'm here, Lorelai," Luke said softly. "And I know you're upset with me. But I'm not going anywhere."

Lorelai swallowed hard. "I need time, Luke," she said. "I can't promise you anything right now."

Luke looked down at his hands, folded gently in his lap. "Okay," he said softly.

"So…do you want to watch a movie now?" Lorelai asked.

"Actually…I have deliveries tomorrow," Luke replied, standing and reaching for his jacket.

"Oh," Lorelai said, disappointed. "Well, I'll see you later then?"

Luke nodded as he began walking towards the door. "Yeah," he said. "Listen…if anything happens, you know with the baby…well, I want to know. Even if you just feel like your ankles are starting to swell, well, I want to be involved in this pregnancy."

Lorelai nodded, then lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry if I'm hurting you," she said. "I just…I can't be fully committed to this right now. I need to know that you're really all in."

Luke looked at her for a moment, then decided to take a risk. He leaned forward and cupped her face in his hands, then kissed her, hard and deep. Lorelai was surprised at first, but she quickly responded, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. Just as the passion was escalating, Luke broke off the kiss and smiled slightly at her.

"Remember that," he said, before turning and walking out the door.

Lorelai watched Luke as he walked to his truck, reliving the kiss that had just happened. She felt a shiver run down her spine, and she knew now what she had to do.

XXXXX

The next afternoon, Luke paced the floor of his apartment, wondering if he was doing the right thing. He was taking a huge risk, he knew that; Lorelai had told him less than twenty four hours ago that she wasn't ready for a commitment. But she had kissed him back, he knew that much.

He walked over to the sink and looked out the window, smiling as he looked at the people setting up the town square. He had hired them all in confidence, and he knew that the rest of the town was wondering what the hell was going on. Taylor had stormed into the diner that morning and demanded to know who was holding a town event without his permission. Luke had played dumb, then enjoyed seeing Taylor steaming mad.

Now, an hour away from putting his plan into action, Luke tapped his hands nervously against the counter, wondering why time was suddenly going slower.

There was a knock at the door, and he turned to see Liz opening the door. She looked at him with a frown as she walked in.

"Hi big brother," she said. "What was the big emergency that I had to come all the way down here from Maine for? And why are you wearing a tuxedo?"

Luke smiled. "I need your help," he said simply.

XXXXX

Lorelai hadn't been out of her house all day, and she didn't know about the mystery event being planned in the town square. She was sitting on the couch watching a movie, eating chocolate as she watching old movies on the American Movie Channel. When the front door opened, she craned her neck to see who was there.

"Mom?" Rory called frantically. "Where are you?"

"Right here," Lorelai replied. "What's wrong? Why are you home?"

"Luke called," Rory replied. "He said that I needed to come home right away. What's wrong? Are you okay? Is the baby okay?"

Lorelai pulled on Rory's hand, forcing her to sit down on the couch. "I'm fine," she said. "The baby's fine. Why did Luke call you?"

"He told me to come home," Rory replied. "Mom, what's going on?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," Lorelai replied. She grabbed her phone and dialed Luke's apartment.

"Hello?"

"Liz?" Lorelai asked. "I didn't know that you were visiting. How long have you been here?"

"Not long," Liz replied. "Listen, Lorelai…there's something going on here, and I think Luke needs you."

Lorelai sat up straighter on the couch. "What happened?" she asked, feeling her heart skip a beat.

"Just…get down here," Liz replied. "As quickly as possible."

Lorelai hung up the phone and stood, searching for her shoes.

"What's wrong?" Rory asked.

"Luke," Lorelai replied. "Something happened with Luke, he needs me."

"I'm coming too," Rory replied. She stood and followed Lorelai out the front door, and they got into the jeep.

When Lorelai parked across the street from the diner, she and Rory looked carefully at the crowd of curious townspeople that had gathered in the town square.

"What's going on?" Rory asked. "You didn't tell me about any town events this weekend."

"I didn't know that there was anything either," Lorelai said distractedly, looking up at the windows of Luke's apartment. "Come on, I want to see what's wrong with Luke."

Rory followed Lorelai into the diner, and they both stopped dead in their tracks at what they saw there.

The Luke's that they had been going to for the past ten years was completely unrecognizable. There were tablecloths on the tables, and in the center of each one was a single red rose next to a candle. Lorelai looked around, searching for some sign as to what was going on. When Luke came down the stairs wearing a tuxedo, she frowned and asked, "What's going on?"

Luke smiled as he walked over to her. He brought a hand out from behind his back and handed her a single red rose. Lorelai took it hesitantly, still wondering what was going on. "Luke, what is this?" she asked.

Without a word, Luke pulled out a box and opened it to reveal the engagement ring that she had worn a month before, more beautiful than ever.

"I love you, Lorelai," he said. "And…I know that I screwed things up. This is my way of making things right and showing you that I'm ready to commit to you, to us, forever."

Lorelai looked at him, tears starting to fill her eyes. "Outside," she said softly. "Is that?"

"Our wedding," Luke replied. "No one knows. I've been working for weeks, trying to give you everything that you wanted. And I want to show you that I'm ready now, to marry you and be with you for the rest of my life."

Lorelai's hands shook as she reached out to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest. Luke brought his arms around her waist, pulling her tightly against his body as she held onto him tightly.

After what seemed like forever, Lorelai finally lifted her head and whispered in his ear, "Yes."

Luke pulled back and looked at her, reading her eyes as if asking her if she was sure.

"I love you," Lorelai continued. "And you love me. So what else matters? I want to marry you right now."

Luke let out a deep sigh of relief as he leaned down and kissed her, softly and gently. "God, I love you."

Lorelai smiled. "So, are you going to put the ring on my finger or what?"

Luke took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto Lorelai's finger, brushing a kiss over her knuckles as he did so.

After a moment, Lorelai turned to Rory, who was still standing in the doorway. She had watched the entire scene play out before her with tears streaming down her face. "Mom," she said softly. "You're getting married!"

Lorelai smiled as she stepping out of Luke's embrace and hugged Rory tightly. "I'm glad he called you," she said softly. "We can't have a wedding without a maid of honor."

Rory hugged Lorelai back tightly. After a moment, Luke cleared his throat. "Uh…Liz is upstairs," he said. "She has the dresses that I ordered for you guys."

Lorelai looked up at him. "How did you get our measurements?" she asked.

"Well, I know your measurements pretty well," he said. "I mean, your height and everything. And at the last doctor's appointment they measured your stomach…so I'm just hoping that it will still fit."

Lorelai reached up to kiss him. "Thank you," she whispered.

"You're welcome," Luke replied. "Now go get ready."

Lorelai took Rory's hand and they walked up the stairs, giggling as they realized that they were about to get ready for Lorelai's wedding.


	18. The Wedding

Liz was waiting in Luke's apartment when Lorelai and Rory arrived. When she saw Lorelai, Liz hugged her tightly, then turned and hugged Rory. "I'm so glad you said yes," she said. "You deserve to be happy."

"Thanks, Liz," Lorelai replied. "I'm glad we're going to be sisters."

Liz squeezed Lorelai's hand, then turned to Luke's closet. "This is your dress," she said to Lorelai.

Lorelai's hands were shaking as she took the dress and took the garment bag off. When she saw the dress, she gasped. It was a cream white, silky. The strapless bodice had a lace trim, which would work to conceal her growing belly. The skirt rippled softly as it hung from the hanger.

It was perfect.

Everything she had wanted for a wedding dress.

She was marrying the perfect man.

"Oh my God," she mumbled.

"It's beautiful," Rory whispered.

"Did you help him pick this out?" Lorelai asked Liz.

Liz shook her head. "I didn't even know he was planning until a couple of hours ago. He did everything by herself," she said.

Lorelai reached out and ran a hand over the soft silk, loving the way it felt beneath her fingers. "I can't believe him," she said softly.

"He loves you, Mom," Rory said softly. "He wanted you to have everything you want."

Lorelai swallowed hard, then turned to Liz. "I want to see your and Rory's dress," she said.

Liz gestured to the dress hanging over the bathroom door. It was lavender and had spaghetti straps that scooped into a sweetheart neckline. "That's mine," she said as she reached into the closet. "And this is Rory's."

She held out the dress and Rory took it. It was the same color as Liz's, but it was a halter top, with thin straps that tied around the neck. She smiled as she felt the silky fabric and shook her head. "I can't believe Luke did this," she said.

Liz smiled. "The town still doesn't know what's going on," she said. "But Luke said that things can start whenever you're ready, so let's get started."

Lorelai nodded. "Okay," she said. "So…hair, make up or dress first?"

Rory tilted her head and Liz furrowed her brow. Finally, Rory spoke up, "Let's do your make up, then your hair, then the dress."

"Okay," Lorelai said. "Liz, you're up for putting on my make up."

An hour later, Lorelai's make up was perfectly applied, and her hair was twisted into a bun on the top of her head with a few curls escaping here and there. She swallowed hard as she stood and looked at her dress.

"I hope it will fit," she said.

Liz and Rory exchanged a glance; they were both hoping the same thing.

"I'm sure it will be fine," Liz finally said.

"My jeans don't fit anymore," Lorelai replied. "I'm wearing sweatpants all the time now."

"Well, you're never going to know if you don't try," Rory replied.

Lorelai nodded and slid her clothes off. When Rory saw Lorelai in just her bra and underwear, she winced to herself. Her belly was more pronounced, and with her clothes off she was obviously pregnant.

Lorelai stepped into the dress and pulled it up, holding the front of it to her chest. Liz stepped up behind her and started to pull the zipper up. About halfway up, the zipper caught, and Lorelai's breath stopped. "It doesn't fit," she said. "Oh my God, I can't even fit into my own wedding dress."

"Calm down, Mom," Rory said. "We can't zip this if you're moving around like that. The zipper's caught, there's plenty of room."

Lorelai bounced from foot to foot, hoping that the dress would fit and unable to contain her energy. "Lorelai, honey, you're going to rip the dress," Liz said.

"Sorry," Lorelai replied. She stood still, trying not to move too much.

Rory finally pulled the zipper up and hooked the hook at the top, stepping back to look at Lorelai.

"It fits?" Lorelai cried in delight. "Thank God, it fits."

Rory smiled as she watched Lorelai admire herself in the mirror. "You look beautiful, Mom," she said softly.

"What are you doing?" Lorelai cried. "You two need to get dressed so I can get married!"

Rory and Liz smiled as they started to get dressed. Lorelai turned back to the mirror, adjusting her veil over her hair and smiling as she looked at her reflection.

XXXXXXXX

After Liz came back down to the diner to tell Luke that Lorelai and Rory were ready, Luke let out a sigh of relief. Before he could say anything, the door opened and Jess walked in.

Luke stormed over to him. "What are you doing here?" he demanded. Without waiting for an answer, he turned to Liz and asked, "What is he doing here?"

Jess took a step back. "Whoa," he said. "I was told that there was an emergency and I needed to get here as soon as possible."

"Hey, don't blame me," Liz said, when Luke turned his gaze on her. "You called and told me to drive all the way from Maine as fast as possible. I thought that something was wrong, and I thought Jess should be here."

Luke rolled his eyes. "This is just great," he muttered. "I knew things were going too well."

"What's going on?" Jess asked. "Why do you two look like you're going to a wedding?"

"Because we are," Liz replied, looking at Luke proudly.

Jess looked Luke over. "You're getting married?" he asked. "Lorelai finally realized?"

Luke rolled his eyes and turned to Liz. "Do you know what this means?" he asked.

Liz frowned at him. "That…Jess is going to be your best man?" she suggested.

"Well, it's sure as hell not going to be TJ or Kirk," Luke snapped back.

"Okay, I'm going to completely skip over the insult of my husband," Liz said. "And ask you again why the hell this is such a big deal."

"Rory is the maid of honor," Luke replied. "Which means she will have to walk down the aisle with Jess."

Liz rolled her eyes. "Don't you think you're making a big deal out of this?" she asked. "Today's about Lorelai and you, not Rory and Jess."

Luke thought for a moment. Then he turned to Jess and said, "You promise that you won't say or do anything to hurt her?"

Jess rolled his eyes. "I'm pretty sure I'm capable of talking to Rory," he said.

"You broke her heart," Luke countered.

"Well, she seemed to handle things okay last year," Jess said without thinking.

"You saw her last year?" Luke exclaimed. "When?"

"Okay, this has happened before," Jess replied. "I'm your nephew. You're supposed to take my side."

"All right, let's make things simple then," Luke said. "You hurt her in any way shape or form, and I will hurt you."

Before Jess could answer, they heard footsteps and Rory appeared from behind the curtain.

"The bride is ready," Rory announced. "But she requests that her groom meet her at the…Jess?"

Jess took a step towards Rory and cleared his throat. "Hey, Rory," he said softly. "How are you?"

Rory stared at him for a moment before she smiled and replied, "I'm good. How about you?"

"Good," Jess replied. He looked around the room, wondering what to say next.

"Well, I guess we're going to be walking down the aisle," Rory replied. "I mean, I'm assuming that you're the best man, and I'm the maid of honor, so…"

Luke took a step towards Rory. "Look, Rory, you don't have to do this. Jess can walk with Liz and I'll walk with you."

Rory shook her head. "No, Luke, it's not a big deal," she said. "You should walk with Liz."

"You sure?" Luke asked, not wanting Rory to feel uncomfortable.

"Completely positive," Rory said with a confident nod.

"Good," Luke said. He pulled Rory in for a hug, then kissed the top of her head.

After a moment, Rory pulled back and smiled up at him before they walked back to Liz and Jess.

"You ready, big brother?" Liz asked as she looped her arm through Luke's.

"Actually, I'm kind of enjoying watching the town suffer from this curiosity," Luke replied.

"You would," Jess mumbled from behind them

Luke shot him a look as they walked onto the sidewalk. Jess mumbled something under his breath, which Luke chose to believe was an apology.

As they walked across the street and down the aisle, the entire town was looking at them with great confusion."

"It looks like a wedding," Patty said to Babette from where they sat on the aisle.

"Lizzie's here," Babette said. "She hardly ever comes back unless something's going on with Luke."

"Do you think Luke's getting married?" Patty asked.

"No way," Babette replied. "The only girl Luke will ever marry is Lorelai and trust me, when I left the house this morning, she was in now way a glowing bride. I ran into her at the mailbox, and I don't think I've ever seen her look so unkempt."

When Lorelai stepped onto the sidewalk in her white gown, the crowd drew a collective gasp of surprise.

Patty tapped Babette on the shoulder. "Look!" she cried.

"Oh my God," Babette cried. "They are getting married!"

As Lorelai walked down the aisle, she kept her eyes locked on Luke's unable to believe that this moment was actually here, the moment she'd been waiting for for as long as she could remember.

When she reached Luke, he took her hand and brushed a soft kiss over the knuckles before he tucked it into the crook of his elbow.

"You look beautiful," Luke whispered as they walked up the steps of the gazebo.

"Luke, I can't believe you did all of this," Lorelai said softly. "The dress, the decorations, the guests…It's perfect."

Luke shrugged. "It was the least I could do," he said. "And I want you to have what you want."

Lorelai smiled and squeezed his hand. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too," Luke whispered back with a hand squeeze of his own.

Reverend Skinner cleared his throat, and the couple turned to face him, their hands still connected. "We are here today to witness the joining of this man, Lucas Danes, and this woman, Lorelai Gilmore, in Holy Matrimony," Reverend Skinner. "There is no greater commitment than that of marriage, and they have asked us to share this joyous day with them. And now, since we have waited for a very very long time for this, I won't put it off any longer. Lucas, repeat after me. I, Lucas Danes…"

"I, Lucas Danes," Luke repeated.

"Take thee, Lorelai Gilmore…"

"Take thee, Lorelai Gilmore…"

"To be my lawfully wedded wife…"

"To be my lawfully wedded wife…"

"To have and to hold…"

"To have and to hold…"

"Until death do us part."

"Until death do us part."

Lorelai felt the tears coming as she felt Luke push the gold wedding band onto her finger, joining his mother's engagement ring that now rested on her finger as a symbol of their commitment to each other.

Reverend Skinner turned to Lorelai and said, "Lorelai, you will now repeat after me. I, Lorelai Gilmore…"

"I, Lorelai Gilmore," Lorelai repeated.

"Take thee, Lucas Danes…"

"Take thee, Lucas Danes…"

"To be my lawfully wedded husband…"

"To be my lawfully wedded husband…"

"To have and to hold..."

"To have and to hold…"

"Until death do us part."

"Until death do us part."

Luke smiled as Lorelai pushed the wedding band onto his finger, the first and only ring he had ever worn. He squeezed Lorelai's hands and smiled brightly at her, making her feel weak in the knees.

After Reverend Skinner had blessed their rings and their marriage, he said, "And now, by the power invested in me, by the state of Connecticut, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Luke leaned forward and kissed Lorelai passionately, a kiss that they usually never shared in public. Lorelai was surprised at the intensity of the kiss, but quickly responded. She would only get to kiss Luke at their wedding once, after all.

A moment later, they pulled apart and smiled at each other brightly. Lorelai looped her arm through Luke's, and they began to walk down the aisle, amidst cheers of congratulations

As soon as they were at the end of the aisle, Lorelai turned to look for Rory. When she saw her, she reached out and hugged her tightly. "I'm married!" she cried.

Rory hugged Lorelai tightly. "I know, Mom," she said. "I'm really happy for you."

When Lorelai finally let go of Rory, she turned to Liz, who was standing behind them with Jess.

"Congratulations, Lorelai," Liz said as she reached out to hug her. "We're sisters now."

"Thanks, Liz," Lorelai replied, hugging her back.

As Liz stepped over to hug Luke, Lorelai smiled at Jess. "It was great that you came," she said. "I mean, it probably means a lot to Luke."

Jess wanted to make a sarcastic remark, but decided to hold his tongue. "Yeah, I was glad he called me," he said.

Lorelai nodded, and before she could say anything else, she felt Luke's hand on her back. "Hun, they want us to start with the receiving line," he said.

Lorelai smiled up at him. "You just called me hun," she said. "You've never done that before."

Luke shrugged. "Well, you are my wife now," he said. "So I figure that I reserve that right."

Lorelai smiled as she leaned up to kiss him, then took his hand. "All right, let's go," she said.

First in line were Sookie and Jackson. When Lorelai saw Sookie, she hugged her tightly. "I can't believe that you did all of this without telling me," Sookie cried.

"Don't talk to me, talk to Luke," Lorelai replied. "About two hours ago, I was sitting on my couch eating chocolate. He did everything!"

Sookie turned to Luke with an amazed look. "I don't even know what to say," she said. "It's beautiful, I am very pleasantly surprised." She gaze him a quick hug, and Lorelai turned to the next people in line.

"Suga, you look fantastic," Babette exclaimed to Lorelai. "And I can't believe that the two of you pulled this off."

Rather than explaining the situation to everyone in town, Lorelai put on a smile and nodded. "Thanks, Babette. We're glad that you're here."

Babette gaze each of them a hug before she began hurrying back in the direction of her house.

"Hello darlings," Patty said. "Mmm, Lucas, you look fabulous in that tuxedo. You should wear something other than flannel more than once a year."

"Hey, Patty, that's my husband your talking about," Lorelai said with a laugh.

"I know, doll," Patty said. "And don't worry. He's far too young for me. And even if I wasn't, he's so in love with you, there will never be anyone else for him."

Lorelai cast a sideways smile at Luke. "Yeah," she said. "I think I'll keep him. For awhile at least."

Luke rolled his eyes. He knew that he had to get used to being subject to Lorelai's teasing for the rest of his life.

As Patty wandered away to mingle, Lorelai looked over the crowd, then turned to Luke. "I bet you've got some kind of fantastic spread prepared for this," she said.

Luke shrugged shyly, but Lorelai could tell that he was being modest. "Well, your child and I are hungry, so let's speed this up," she said. She turned back to the line and called, "All right, we're all hungry, so let's speed things up!"

"Lorelai," Luke hissed. "That's rude."

Lorelai shrugged. "We'll talk to them all at the reception anyways," she said. "But if I don't get some food soon, this baby is going to be very unhappy, and you don't want that, do you?"

Luke sighed and rolled his eyes. "Okay, well, then start things up," he urged.

Lorelai turned to the next people in line and accepted the congratulations, all the while anxious to get to the reception, and more looking forward to that night, when she brought Luke back to her house with her.


	19. The Reception

**Hope you enjoy the reception chapter!**

An hour later, Lorelai and Luke pulled up in their white limo in front of an outdoor banquet facility about fifteen minutes away from Stars Hollow. As the limo came to a stop, Luke reached for Lorelai's champagne glass, which had been filled with sparkling apple cider, and set it aside with his. He kissed her on the lips, then reached for her hand.

"You ready?" he asked.

Lorelai nodded, an excited smile playing over her lips. "I still can't believe that you did this," she said.

Luke smiled at her, then turned to open the door. He was met by clapping and cheering as he turned and reached for Lorelai's hand. As he pulled her out of the car and onto her feet, the cheers got louder and Lorelai smiled, holding onto Luke's hand tightly. They walked through the crowd of their friends, smiling as they accepted more praise and congratulations.

When they were seated at the main table along with Rory, Jess, and Liz, Luke turned to Lorelai and said, "Maybe we should get up, and you know, thank them now."

Lorelai smiled as she stood, raising her champagne glass above her head. As she tapped it with a knife, the guests all quieted down and looked up at her expectantly. Lorelai smiled and said, "I'm so glad that you were all here to help us celebrate this day with us. I know you've all been waiting for this for a long time, and I'm glad that it's finally here. I'm also very glad that I married a man who was willing to plan the wedding completely by himself, just to prove how much he loves me. I can't imagine anyone I would rather be doing this with. I love you, Luke, and I'm so glad that you've never given up on us, even when I thought that there was no hope. You're my rock, and I can't imagine ever living without you ever again." She pulled Luke to his feet and kissed him softly before she said, "now it's your turn."

"I want to thank everyone who helped me out with this," Luke started. "They did an amazing job keeping this a secret, and for that I am eternally grateful. Thanks for the town for being as nosy as they are, so that we could have wedding guests. But mostly, I want to thank my bride…She's the best thing that ever happened to me, and I'm so glad that you said yes." The crowd cheered and clapped as Lorelai looked down at the table, blushing slightly.

They sat back down, Luke leaned in and kissed Lorelai softly. She smiled at him for a moment, but their gaze was broken when the waiters began placing their salads in front of them.

When the dinner was cleared, the deejay finished the song that was playing and announced, "Alright, it's time to welcome to the dance floor Mr. and Mrs. Luke Danes for their first dance as husband and wife."

Luke led Lorelai to the dance floor and wrapped her arms around her waist, pulling her tightly against him. As Wonderful Tonight began to play through the speakers, Luke held her close to him and whispered into her hair, "I love you so much. Thank you for today."

Lorelai rested her head on Luke's shoulder, feeling safe and protected in his arms. "I'm the one who should be thanking you," she whispered. "God, I love you more than I can say."

They danced in silence for the rest of the song, glad to be in the haven of each other's arms and cherishing their first dance together as a married couple.

When they returned to their table, Lorelai smiled as she sat down next to Rory. The two of them began to talk in whispers, and Luke sat down next to Lorelai and watched as the wedding guests danced.

When the caterers wheeled their wedding cake onto the dance floor, Luke smiled and tapped Lorelai on the shoulder. When she turned to smile at him, he pointed to the cake and said, "Look." He smiled as he watched Lorelai's eyes light up as she turned back to look at him.

"Are you really going to eat cake?" Lorelai asked Luke as she stared at the large cake that was being prepared for them to cut.

Luke shrugged as he took Lorelai's hand, leading her to the center of the dance floor where the cake was sitting. "Well, I'm only going to have one wedding cake," he said. "So I figured that I might as well enjoy it."

Lorelai smiled and looked up at him. "Does that mean that I can shove cake in your face?" she asked eagerly.

"No," Luke replied immediately. "That's a ridiculous wedding tradition," Luke began ranting, much to Lorelai's delight. "There's no point to it, and it ruins the expensive and fancy clothes."

Lorelai pouted. "Please," she said, resting her free hand on her belly. "Your baby wants me to."

"Stop that, someone's going to hear you," Luke whispered harshly. "You don't want anyone to find out about the baby right now, do you?"

"Fine," Lorelai said, turning to face away from him. Luke gave her hand a squeeze, wanting to make sure that she was okay, but she didn't look at him.

They stepped in front of their wedding cake, and Luke took the knife from the caterer offering it to him, then turned to Lorelai. She smiled up at him and placed a hand with his on the knife. Luke smiled and placed his other hand on the small of her back. They smiled and posed for the photographer before they actually cut the cake. After they'd cut their first two pieces, the caterers took over and began distributing the cake to the guests.

Luke looked over at Lorelai, who was standing in front of their table, eating her cake quietly. He thought for a moment before he reached down to his plate and scooped up a piece of frosting onto his finger. His gaze rested on Lorelai once again, and he reached out to swipe her cheek with the frosting covered finger.

"Hey!" Lorelai cried, surprised. "You said you thought that you this was a stupid wedding tradition! What gives?"

Luke shrugged. "I changed my mind," he replied with a shrug.

Lorelai stared at him for a moment before she reached down and grabbed the rest of her cake, throwing it at him. Luke responded by covering her face in more frosting, and soon both of their faces were covered in cake crumbs and frosting.

After their cake fight, Luke took Lorelai's hand and led her inside and into a bathroom. He smiled at her as he ran a paper towel under the sink and gently began to clear the cake from Lorelai's face. She closed her eyes, relishing the feeling of Luke taking control of her. After a moment, she opened her eyes and whispered, "Luke?"

"Hmm?" Luke asked, concentrating on wiping the mess from her face.

"When do you want to start telling people about the baby?" Lorelai asked.

Luke pulled back and looked at her for a moment. "What's bringing this on?" he asked.

"Well, you didn't seem to thrilled about people knowing that we're having a baby," Lorelai replied.

"Lorelai, you know that's not true and you know it," Luke said sternly.

"I know," Lorelai replied. "But I want to know when we should start telling people. We're not going to be able to hide it for much longer."

Luke sighed. "Can't we just enjoy today as our wedding day?" he asked softly. "I promise, tomorrow even, we can talk about announcing the baby. But I want to have today be about our wedding."

"Okay," Lorelai replied.

Luke looked at her in surprise. "Okay?" he said. "That's it?"

"Yeah," Lorelai replied. "I think that's a good idea."

Luke nodded and reached out to her. He kissed her softly. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," Lorelai whispered back.

"Should we get back?" Luke asked reluctantly.

"I guess so," Lorelai replied. "Although I like it just being the two of us."

Luke smiled and kissed her forehead. "Trust me, we'll have plenty of time for that over the next few days," he said.

Lorelai grinned as she led him out of the bathroom and back outside. Rory saw the two of them walk outside holding hands and walked over to them, narrowing her eyes. "Were you two doing something dirty?" she asked.

Lorelai smiled innocently at Rory, and Luke's mouth dropped open. Rory laughed. "Come on, Luke, I was kidding," she said. "Come dance with me."

Luke was given little chance to protest as Rory took his hand and led him onto the dance floor. As they began to dance, Rory smiled up at him. "I'm really glad that you did this, Luke," she said. "Mom's never happier than she is when she's with you, and now you're going to be together for the rest of your lives."

Luke smiled. "Yeah, it's a good arrangement," he replied.

Rory nodded. "And I know that I'm pretty much grown up and everything," she continued. "But…I still need you to be my dad. I really wish that things could have worked out between you and Mom a long time ago so I could legally be your daughter. But now I'm twenty, and I don't need a legal guardian anymore, so you can't adopt you. But I was just wondering if, even if it's not legal or anything…well, you would consider me your daughter?"

Luke looked down at her for a moment before he kissed her forehead. "Already there, kid," he said.

Rory nodded, a smile spreading across her face. "Thanks…Dad," she said, testing the word.

After the dance was over, they walked back to Lorelai. She smiled at them and said, "Wow, I'm pretty sure that was one of the best things I've ever seen. I'm so glad that you guys love each other so much."

Luke and Rory exchanged a look, then Rory smiled at her mother. "Actually, Mom, Luke just adopted me," she said.

Lorelai narrowed her eyes and looked at them. "What?"

Luke smiled as he wrapped an arm around Rory's shoulders. "We decided that even if it can't be legal, we still want to be considered a father and daughter, so I adopted her," he explained.

Lorelai smiled brightly. "That's great," she said. She hugged Luke first, then Rory, clinging to her for an extra minute. "I love you kid," she said.

"I love you too, Mom," she said. "I'm so glad that you've got this."

When Lorelai pulled apart, she looked around. "Well, it looks like things are dying down a little bit," she said.

Luke nodded in agreement. The crowd had dispersed somewhat, though there were still some people dancing and some mingling. He turned to Lorelai and asked, "Are you ready to go home?"

Lorelai raised her eyebrows suggestively. "Baby, with you I'm ready to home," she said.

"Aw, Mom, must you do that while I'm here," Rory cried. "Every time you imply something like that I lose about twenty seconds of my life."

Lorelai shrugged as she looped her arm through Luke's and rested her head on his shoulder. "Well, how do you think this sibling of yours landed a home inside of my stomach?" she asked.

"Okay, I'm just going to stop you there by saying good night, congratulations, and I love you," Rory said. She stepped forward and hugged Luke, then Lorelai. "Have fun guys, I'll see you in a week or so."

"Bye babe," Lorelai said. "Be careful at school."

Rory rolled her eyes. "Okay, Mom," she said.

"Hey, it's a mother's reflex," Lorelai replied. "I'll still be telling you to be careful when you're my age."

Rory rolled her eyes at Luke. "Good luck with her," she said.

"I'm sure I can handle her," Luke replied, smiling down at Lorelai. "Bye, Rory."

Rory smiled at them before she turned and walked out of the banquet area. Lorelai turned to Luke and smiled up at him. "So, husband of mine, what do you propose that we do now?"

Luke smiled down at her. "I can think of a few things," he replied, leaning down to kiss her gently.

After a moment, Lorelai pulled back and took his hand. "Let's say thanks to everyone who's still here, then we'll go home," she said.

Luke followed her as she spoke to the rest of the thirty or so guests who were still there. A half an hour later, they walked outside hand in hand and waited for their limo. When Luke saw Lorelai shiver and wrap her free arm over her chest to protect herself from the cool spring night air, he slid his hand out of her and took off his jacket. Lorelai smiled up at him as he wrapped it around her shoulder.

"Thanks," she said.

Luke smiled and kissed the top of her head. "No problem," he said. He wrapped his arms around her and Lorelai leaned against him, looking up at the stars. They stood together, watching the sky as they waited for their new life together to begin.

**Next chapter: On their wedding night, Luke and Lorelai have a long talk**


	20. The wedding night and the morning after

**I know that this is a little shorter than normal, but I'm having a little trouble, so leave me reviews letting me know what you'd like to see happen. It would help me out a lot, and there would be faster updates!**

When the limo pulled up in front of the Gilmore house, Lorelai and Luke climbed out and walked up the porch steps. They were silent, knowing that they didn't need to speak to be comfortable around each other. On the way home, Lorelai had dozed slightly, her head resting on Luke's shoulder. He'd been content to simply watch her, and now they were climbing the stairs to the bedroom, not needing to speak in order to tell each other how they felt.

When the door closed behind them, Lorelai turned and smiled at Luke. "Well, do you mind helping me out of this dress?" she asked.

Luke smiled and wordlessly turned her around so that he could unzip the dress. He ran his hands gently over her shoulders, then leaned down to kiss the soft skin. Lorelai closed her eyes and leaned into him, fully enjoying the sensation. It was their wedding night, and that combined with the fact that she hadn't had sex with Luke in over a month was enough to heighten every touch, every sensation.

Slowly, Lorelai turned around and looked up at Luke. "You're good at that," she whispered as she started to undo his bow tie.

"I enjoy it," Luke said with a smirk, then gasped as Lorelai undid the top few buttons on his shirt and began kissing and nipping at the skin there. "You're pretty good at that," Luke managed to gasp out as Lorelai pushed the shirt over his shoulders. When she reached for his belt buckle, he grabbed her hand and stopped her. "I'll take care of that," he said. "Unless you want this to be over before it even begins."

Lorelai grinned at him as she watched him step out of his pants and boxers, his erection standing proudly in front of him. She smiled slyly and stepped towards him. He slid the dress down her body and she stepped out of it, carefully laying it over the back of the chair before she returned to stand in front of Luke. As she shed her strapless bra and underwear, Luke stared, unable to believe the vision before him.

Lorelai's body had changed shape greatly since the last time they'd made love, and he couldn't wait to explore every inch of her, to rediscover the body that he had known so intimately.

"You're beautiful," he gasped.

Lorelai smiled slightly and leaned back onto the bed, propping herself up on her elbows. "Then come and get me, diner man," she challenged with a seductive eyebrow raise.

Luke grinned as he crawled on top of her and kissed her, passionately and hungrily. Lorelai responded with full intensity, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him tightly against her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Later, Luke lay in Lorelai's arms, his head resting on her chest as he traced circles on her expanded stomach. Lorelai watched him with a smile on her face, occasionally running her fingers through his hair.

"It's incredible," Luke whispered.

Lorelai smiled slightly. "What is, babe?" she asked softly.

"You," Luke replied. "The way your body's changed so much. I can't believe I missed out on watching this happen."

Lorelai pulled him up so that she could meet his eyes. "I'm sorry," she said. "That I made you miss out on the pregnancy."

Luke placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "I'm here now," he said. "And that's all that matters. I just…it amazes me." He leaned down to trail his lips over her stomach, then kissed his way up to her chest. When he lingered there, kissing around her breasts, Lorelai smiled as she threaded her fingers through his hair.

"Well, I'm glad you're happy with my body," she gasped between breaths.

Luke smiled as he kissed his way back up to her mouth. "Seriously, Lorelai, you're perfect," he said. "I can't…I don't even know how to express how amazing it is that my baby is inside of you."

"I know," Lorelai agreed. "It's like…everywhere I go, there's a part of you there too. And especially over the last few weeks that's given me a great amount of security."

Luke ran a hand through his hair, smiling down at her. "I'm so glad you said yes," he said. "I was terrified that I lost you forever."

"Oh, Luke," Lorelai whispered. "You're never, ever going to lose me. I know that I don't have the greatest track record with relationships, but I _married _you. I wouldn't have done it if there had been any doubt in my mind about what a wonderful husband you're going to be, or how amazing a father you already are."

Luke smiled as he settled onto his stomach, resting his weight on his elbows as he looked down at Lorelai. "So…do you want to know?" he asked.

"If it's a boy or a girl?" Lorelai asked. Luke nodded and she thought for a moment, biting her upper lip in thought. "I don't know," she finally said. "Rory was born before that was an option, but I never really thought about whether I would want to know or not. What do you want?"

"Well, if you don't want to that's fine," Luke said. "But…I'd kind of like to know."

Lorelai smiled up at him. "Then we'll find out," she said.

"Really?" Luke asked. "You're okay with that?"

"Oh course," Lorelai replied. "I mean, I've done the pregnancy thing before. And even though I know that this one is different, you've never done it before. So I want to make sure that it works out the way you want it to as much as possible."

Luke kissed her hand. "Lorelai, I want you to enjoy this too," he said.

Lorelai smiled. "I will," she said. "Well, as much as any woman enjoys being pregnant. And you've already been so fantastic, I can't wait to see how you're going to be when this baby actually gets here."

Luke blushed, looking down at their intertwined hands that were resting on top of her stomach. "I just…it's my baby," he said softly. "I can't help but love it already, you know?"

"Trust me, I know," Lorelai replied with a nod. She paused for a moment, looking around the room. "Hey, we need to move all of your stuff back in."

Luke nodded. "We will," he said. "When we get back."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Back?" she asked. "Where are we going?"

"On a honeymoon," Luke replied with a slight chuckle. "Lorelai, we just got married. You really thought that I would deprive my bride of a honeymoon?"

"Where are we going?" Lorelai asked.

Luke looked at her for a moment. "Well, my friend has this summer house on Cape Cod," he said. "They just opened it for the summer and he said we can use it for a couple of days. If it's not what you want, then we don't have to go…" Luke continued before Lorelai smiled and placed a gentle hand against his lips.

"Luke, it's perfect," she said softly. "I still can't believe that you went through this much trouble."

"I was so terrified of losing you, Lorelai. I would have done anything to let you give me another chance."

Lorelai smiled as she slid on top of him, kissing his neck gently. "Well, how about I show you just how happy I am that you did?" she asked seductively.

Luke swallowed hard as he grasped Lorelai's hips in his hands. "I'd like that," he said hoarsely.

Lorelai leaned her head down and began to feast on his neck, slowly moving her lips down to his chest.

XXXXXXXXXXX

The next morning, Luke opened his eyes first and blinked, taking a moment to remember his surroundings. He smiled as he felt Lorelai's weight on top of him, and looked down at her. She was tangled up in him, with her head resting on his chest, one arm draped over his stomach, and her legs mingling with his.

She was beautiful.

Luke leaned down and kissed her forehead gently, then pushed some hair out of her face. She stirred, and smiled up at Luke, but before either one of them could say anything, she sat straight up and ran into the bathroom. Luke followed close behind, wondering what was wrong.

His heart sank for Lorelai when he found her kneeling on the floor in front of the toilet. With a sigh, he wet a washcloth in the sink and ran it gently over her face as she leaned up against the edge of the bath tub.

"Are you okay?" he asked gently.

Lorelai nodded tiredly. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "The first morning of a honeymoon isn't supposed to be like this."

"Shh," Luke said softly. "Don't worry about that. Are you okay?"

Lorelai nodded as she shifted her position so that she could lean against him. "No different than any other time," she said softly.

Luke frowned as he pushed some hair off of her head. "Has this been happening every morning?" he asked. When Lorelai was silent, he leaned his head against the wall and sighed. "I wish I had been here," he said.

Lorelai looked up at him. "There's nothing that you could have made it different, Luke," she said softly. "It should be getting pretty close to the end now. But then comes the weight gaining and cravings and swollen ankles."

Luke smiled against her hair. "I'll make a point to buy pickles and ice cream for the fridge," he said.

They sat together for a moment before Lorelai sat up. "Well, I don't know about you, but I don't want to waste our honeymoon time on the bathroom floor," she paused for a moment, then added, "Unless we're doing something dirty, then it would be okay. What do you say?"

Luke rolled his eyes and pointed to the door. "I say get packed, and when we get to the cape we'll talk."

"Fine," Lorelai replied. She walked into the bedroom and pulled a suitcase out of her closet, throwing clothes into her suitcase. Luke stood in the doorway for a moment before he cleared his throat and said, "Well, I'm going to go over to the diner and get some stuff together."

Lorelai frowned, momentarily forgetting that Luke's stuff was all still at his apartment. "If you want to wait for a couple minutes, I'll be ready and then we can just stop there on our way out of town," she said. "I don't really want to be apart from you right now."

With a smile, Luke walked over to her and pressed a kiss to her forehead before he sat down on the bed next to her suitcase.

A half an hour later, Lorelai's suitcase was packed, and Luke was carrying it down the stairs. Lorelai followed behind with a duffel bag filled with shoes.

"Why the hell do you need all this stuff?" Luke grunted as he set the suitcase down on the floor, breathing heavily after carrying the suitcase all the way down the stairs.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Luke, anytime we go anywhere overnight, we always have this discussion," she said. "I need to be able to have a selection of what I want to wear on what day."

Luke rolled his eyes as he made his way towards the door, now pulling the suitcase on its wheels. "Well, I wasn't exactly planning on having you wear very many clothes," he said.

Lorelai smirked at him over her shoulder as she closed and locked the front door. "It's our honeymoon, mister, don't think that you're getting out of taking me to a big, fancy expensive dinner," she said, looping her arm through his as she followed him to the jeep.

"Fine," Luke replied, then grunted as he lifted the suitcase into the trunk. Lorelai patted him on the back, then kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Hon."

Luke smiled as they got into the car and drove the short distance to the diner. As they climbed the stairs to the diner, Lorelai asked, "How long is the drive?"

"About an hour," Luke replied. "Why?"

"Well, I was just wondering," Lorelai replied. "And I thought you might want to start counting down the hours to what I've been preparing since you told me that we were going on a honeymoon."

Luke's eyebrows shot up, and he turned to look at her. "A plan?" he asked.

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah," she said seductively. She pressed her body against him tightly, letting her breast press against his chest for a brief moment before she was gone, walking across the room with a smirk on her face.

Trying to recover from being so close to Lorelai, Luke took a deep breath and tried to focus on something besides Lorelai's growing breasts pressed against him.

A moment later, he swallowed hard and turned around to find Lorelai already filling a suitcase.

"I don't need that much!" Luke immediately protested.

"Would you relax?" Lorelai asked. "Believe me, I don't want to see you in very many clothes this weekend either. But I figured if we packed your clothes now, then after we get home you can just bring the suitcase back to the house instead of packing more later."

"Oh," Luke said. "That makes sense."

Lorelai smiled and patted his cheek. "See, hon, I told you that I know what I'm doing."

Luke was silent, and she smiled at him over her shoulder as she zipped the suitcase. "Do you want anything else?" she asked. "We can move the rest of your stuff back later."

"Okay, that's fine," Luke said. "I just want to get out of here."

Lorelai smiled as she followed him down the stairs and outside to where the jeep was parked.

Five minutes later, Luke pulled the jeep away from the curb next to the diner, and they were officially on their honeymoon.

"This is so exciting!" Lorelai exclaimed. "Our honeymoon!"

Luke smiled as he reached over and placed a hand on her knee. "It will be a lot of fun," he agreed.

Lorelai smiled at him, then turned to look out her window, prepared to enjoy the ride.

XXXXXXX

An hour later, Lorelai was looking at the map that was spread before her. "I'm telling you, Luke, we're well on our way to Boston," she said.

Rolling his eyes, Luke pulled the car over to the side of the road and took the map from her. "Lorelai, usually people don't read maps upside down," he said as he turned it right side up. "But I still think we missed the exit."

Lorelai leaned back and pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well, we better get somewhere soon, because I have to pee," she said.

"Aha!" Luke cried. "We just have to go back one exit, then we should only be about twenty minutes away."

Lorelai sighed. "I knew we would get lost," she commented. "Every time you drive us somewhere we get lost."

Luke handed the map back to her. "We could just go back to Stars Hollow," he commented as he got back onto the highway.

Lorelai shoved the map back into the glove box and smiled sweetly at him. "I'm sorry, Luke," she said sweetly. "I do want to go to the Cape. Believe it or not, I've never been there."

"Really?" Luke asked. "I would have thought that would be somewhere where your parents would come a lot."

"No, we went to Martha's Vineyard a lot," Lorelai replied. "And then Rory was born, and I didn't go anywhere really exciting, besides Boston or New York, until Rory and I went to Europe after she graduated Chilton."

Luke reached for Lorelai's hand, placing a gentle kiss on the back of it. "Have I ever told you how brave you are?" he asked gently. "Raising Rory all by yourself as a teenager…not many people would be able to do that."

"I would do anything for Rory," she said softly. "I didn't want her to grow up the way did. But I don't think I could do it again, so I'm glad that you're here."

"And I'm not going anywhere," Luke replied.

Lorelai smiled at him, then turned her attention to the road. They were nearing the ocean, and her eyes immediately widened in excitement.

**Next chapter: What will Luke and Lorelai do on Cape Cod? (Besides the obvious, wink wink)**


	21. Cape Cod

**Okay I hope you enjoy! Let me know if you liked it or not**

When Luke pulled up to a white house that sat on the beach and shut off the engine, Lorelai's jaw dropped and she turned to look at Luke. "This is where we're staying?" she asked.

"Yeah," Luke replied. "There's a private beach and everything.

"Wow," Lorelai said as she got out of the car to get a better look. "I can't believe this."

Luke came around the car and wrapped his arms around her waist. "You like it?" he whispered in her ear.

"I love it," Lorelai replied. She turned her head for a quick kiss, then grabbed his hand and started walking towards the house. "Come on, let's go inside."

Luke dug around in his pocket for the key, then opened the door, letting Lorelai step inside first. The foyer opened to a staircase that led up both sides of the room, and straight ahead of them was the kitchen, with a large window that allowed them to see the beach. To their left was the living room, and the right was the dining room.

"Wow," was all Lorelai could muster.

"It gets better," Luke replied. "Follow me."

He took her hand and led her up the stairs, stopping before a door at one end of the hall. "This is the master bedroom," he said. "Where we will spend our honeymoon."

"The bed better be comfortable," Lorelai commented.

Luke rolled his eyes, then opened the door, revealing a large, four poster bed in the center of the room. To the right was a large balcony, and to the left there was a bathroom, where a large Jacuzzi bathroom could be seen.

"Oh my God," Lorelai muttered. "Luke, how come I've never met these friends of yours?"

Luke shrugged. "It's just their summer house," he said. "And they live up in Maine, so it's hard for them to get down here a lot."

Lorelai walked over to the balcony and shook her head. "This view is incredible," she said. When she felt Luke come up behind her, she turned and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "Thank you, Luke," she whispered. "This is amazing…no one has ever done this much for me before."

"Well, no one has ever loved you like I have," Luke replied.

Lorelai smiled up at him. "Such a softy," she commented. Before Luke could protest, she leaned forward and pressed herself against him. "Well, I suppose that a proper thank you is in order," she whispered seductively.

Luke swallowed hard. "Lorelai, the bags are still in the car," he said feebly, knowing that nothing he said was going to mean anything. "And it's one-thirty in the afternoon…"

"Luke, we've done it in your apartment in the middle of the day, while there are people downstairs in the diner," Lorelai mumbled. "Why should right now, when we're alone in this beautiful beach house, turn you off?"

Luke leaned down and captured her lips in his, kissing her long and deep. When they pulled back, both panting for air, Luke backed Lorelai up to the bed. As he suctioned his lips to her neck and began tugging at the bottom of her shirt, Lorelai pulled him back up to her. "I'm supposed to be thanking you, remember?" she said, turning them around. She kissed him deeply, then pushed gently back onto the bed. Luke smiled softly as she stood before him, reaching for the bottom of her shirt.

His eyes widened when she dropped the shirt onto his lap. He'd seen her, the night before, but he couldn't help but be amazed every time that he saw her body displayed before him. He was the only one who got to witness this beautiful woman naked, and he intended to enjoy every moment of the strip show she was putting on for him.

When Lorelai climbed onto the bed a few minutes later, Luke was more than happy to pull her on top of him, clutching her tightly as he kissed her hungrily. Lorelai smiled through the kiss and began to unbutton his shirt, leaving a trail of kisses down his chest. Luke, understanding her desires, leaned back and threaded his fingers through her hair, enjoying feeling Lorelai on top of him.

XXXXXXXX

An hour later, Lorelai was snuggled deeply into Luke's side, clinging to him as they both tried to catch their breath.

"Wow," Luke finally said. "That was amazing. Lorelai, you're incredible."

Lorelai smiled up at him. "You sure know how to please a woman," she said. "And thank you."

Luke pressed a kiss to the top of her head, then rested his head against hers. "I certainly think that that was more than enough to thank me for this," he said.

"Oh believe me, there will be more thanking later," Lorelai replied.

Luke laughed and pulled her closer. "Well, I'm nor going to complain about that," he said.

"Well, we have that huge Jacuzzi," Lorelai continued. "And the balcony…and the beach…"

"The _beach?"_ Luke repeated. "Lorelai, people go to that beach."

"Yeah, that's half the fun," Lorelai replied as if it were obvious. "Getting caught."

"We'll see," Luke replied. Lorelai smiled and settled back against him. They both knew that she had won. She always won.

"We should go to the grocery store," Luke commented a few minutes later.

Lorelai, who had been almost been asleep, looked up at him with a frown. "What?" she asked.

"To buy food," Luke added. "I'm making dinner tonight."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him. "Luke, you make me dinner, like, every night," she said. "And usually lunch and breakfast too. This is your vacation too, we should just go out to eat."

"I don't mind cooking," Luke replied. "I actually really like it."

"Well, that's a good thing," Lorelai replied. "Because starting when we get back, me and baby here are going to be making you cook for us all the time. I just…I want our honeymoon to be for us. So can we go out tonight, please?"

"Okay," Luke replied. "I'll look for a nice place."

"Thank you," Lorelai replied, leaning in to kiss him softly. She sat up and looked around for a moment, then said, "we never brought our suitcases in, did we?"

"No," Luke replied. "Why?"

"I want my pajamas," Lorelai replied.

"Pajamas?" Luke repeated. "It's the middle of the afternoon."

"I know," Lorelai replied. "But it's around this time that I start to g et really tired."

"Oh," Luke said. He was beginning to realize just how much he didn't know about pregnancy.

"So I'll just take a little nap and then we can go out tonight, okay?" Lorelai asked.

"Sure," Luke replied. He leaned down and kissed Lorelai softly, then stood and began looking for his clothes.

After getting the suitcases from the car and heading back upstairs, Luke smiled when he saw Lorelai, snuggled into the flannel shirt that he'd been wearing earlier. She was fast asleep, and he knew that the shirt had now been claimed to her.

'There goes another one,' he thought as he gently put the suitcases down by the door and closed the door gently behind him, hoping that she would feel better when she woke.

Two hours later, Lorelai walked downstairs to the kitchen, looking for Luke. When she saw no sign of life, she turned and saw a note taped to the fridge.

Lorelai,

Went to buy some food and make dinner reservations. Hope you had a good nap.

Love, Luke

Lorelai smiled and put the note back down on the counter. She was halfway back up the stairs to take a shower when she heard the front door open. She turned and smiled down at Luke. "Hey, hon," she said.

"Hey," Luke replied. "Did you see my note?"

"Yeah, I just woke up," Lorelai replied as she walked the rest of the way down the stairs. "What did you buy?"

"Just some food to have around," Luke replied. "I don't want you to get hungry."

Lorelai nodded. "Thanks," she said. "I was just going to get into the shower."

Luke raised his eyebrows and set the grocery bag down, then pulled Lorelai close to him. "Care for some company?" he asked before he buried his face to kiss her neck.

"I'd love some," Lorelai started. "But Luke, I'm kind of sore."

Luke's head snapped up to look at her. "Did I hurt you?" he asked. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Lorelai shook her head and placed a and on his cheek. "You didn't hurt me, Luke," she said softly. "You've never hurt me. I just…I've been out of practice, and with the baby…I just need a little break. But I promise there will be plenty of us this week."

Luke looked at her for a moment, as if trying to decide if she was telling him the truth or not. "Okay," he finally said. As Lorelai kissed him and began to climb the stairs, he added, "We have seven thirty dinner reservations."

"Okay," Lorelai replied. "I'll be ready at seven, I promise."

Luke rolled his eyes and picked up the grocery bag, heading into the kitchen.

At six forty five, Lorelai walked down the stairs wearing a loose black dress that was appropriately fancy but didn't show her expanding belly. She entered the living room and smiled when she found Luke engrossed in a book.

"Whatcha reading?" Lorelai asked from the doorway.

Luke looked up, and his eyes widened when he saw her. "Oh my God," he said softly. "Lorelai, you look beautiful."

Lorelai couldn't help but smile at his compliment. "Thank you," she said as he approached her.

Taking a curl of her hair and running his fingers through it, Luke looked into her eyes and smiled at her. "You're ready early," he commented.

"Yeah, I figured I should try and impress my husband," Lorelai replied with a grin. Luke gave her a kiss, then headed towards the door. "I'll be ready in a few minutes."

"Okay," Lorelai replied. She sat down on the couch and looked at the book that Luke had been reading. _What to expect when you're expecting._ Lorelai smiled as she flipped through the book, touched that Luke had been so interested in her pregnancy that he had bought a book about it.

When Luke came downstairs and saw Lorelai sitting on the couch reading, he blushed. He hadn't meant for her to see that he didn't have a clue as to what he was doing. Now she was going to know that he was going to be a bad father.

When Lorelai saw him standing in the doorway a moment later, she smiled and held up the book. "Doing some heavy reading?" she asked.

Luke blushed. "I uh..I just wanted to know some stuff," he said.

Lorelai stood up and took his hand. "Good," she said. "Come on, let's go to dinner, I'm starving."

XXXXXX

In the hot tub later that night, Lorelai looked at Luke over her glass of sparking champagne. "Luke, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing," Luke mumbled, taking a long sip of his glass.

"Yeah right," Lorelai replied. She set her glass on the side of the tub and slid over to sit next to Luke, resting her chin on his shoulder so she could look into his eyes. "I know you, Luke. And there's something bothering you."

Luke sighed and traced his fingertips over the skin on her arm softly. "I just…I'm going to be a father," he said softly.

"Yes, you are," Lorelai said, amused. "And you're scared."

Luke looked down at her, his face written with surprise. "How did you know that?" he asked.

"I'm not blind," Lorelai replied. "I could see that you're excited for the baby, but you're scared at the same time. Which, I believe, is completely normal."

"You're not scared," Luke countered.

"Of course I am," Lorelai replied. "But I had Rory when I was sixteen. In case you missed the memo, that's frowned upon. And I raised her, as terrified as I was. And even though I have experience, that was twenty years ago. Rory and this baby are in complete different generations. Every baby is different. A complete new experience. I know that I have more experience with this than you do, but I'm going to have to relearn stuff about babies too. We're in this together, Luke, There was never any question about that."

"I know," Luke mumbled. "I just…I felt so stupid. You know all this stuff about being pregnant and having a baby around, and I felt so guilty because I didn't know any of it."

Lorelai slid herself into Luke's lap and took his hand. Leading the hand to her belly, she whispered, "Luke, this is our baby. I know you're scared, but let me ask you one thing. Are you going to love this baby?"

"I already do," Luke replied.

Lorelai leaned forward and kissed him softly. "There's your answer," she said. "You already love this baby, and you don't know anything about it. How can you help but be a wonderful father?"

Luke shrugged. "I just…I wish I knew more about what you're going through right now."

Lorelai laughed slightly. "Hon, I don't even really understand everything that's happening to me right now," she said. "That's part of what makes this so amazing. We don't know what's going to happen, and it makes it exciting to look into the future."

"You're amazing, you know that?" Luke asked.

"Well, I have been told that by a few people," Lorelai replied with a snug smile. "But let me show you…"

They sank lower into the water as Luke let out a loud moan.

XXXXXXXX

On Saturday morning, Lorelai was sound asleep when she felt someone looking at her. She cracked her eyes open and saw Luke standing over her. Knowing what he wanted, she groaned and closed her eyes again, burying her face in the pillow. "I don't wanna go home," she complained.

"We have to," Luke replied. "We have jobs, a house, a daughter."

Lorelai opened her eyes and turned to smile up at him.

"What?" Luke asked at her happy grin.

"You called Rory _our _daughter," Lorelai said, obviously pleased.

"I know," Luke replied. "Now come on, I called her, she's meeting us at the house at noon."

Lorelai frowned. "Okay, okay. Jeez, you get married and all of a sudden someone else is controlling your every move," she mumbled on her way to the bathroom.

Luke rolled his eyes and opened a drawer, starting to put Lorelai's clothes in her suitcase.

An hour later, they were all packed and filled with Luke's pancakes. As Lorelai descended the stairs to meet Luke in the foyer, she asked, "Can we move here?"

"Well, that would allow us to get out of telling Stars Hollow about the baby," Luke replied as he wrapped his arms around Lorelai's waist.

"So, it's settled?" Lorelai asked hopefully.

Luke smiled and guided her towards the door. "Let's go home," he said.

On the way home, Lorelai turned to Luke and asked, "When should we tell people about the baby?"

Luke looked at her, surprised for a moment before he replied, "I don't know. How did you tell people about Rory?"

Lorelai nearly choked on her coffee. "Excuse me?" she asked. "Luke, that situation was completely different from this."

"I know," Luke replied. "I'm sorry, I just thought…"

"Well, if you want, we could wait until someone starts using Pinesol around me and I throw up on the carpet," Lorelai said with a smirk.

"That's how your parents found out about Rory?" Luke asked.

"My parents…Christopher…the maids…pretty much all of Hartford," Lorelai replied.

"You didn't tell Christopher first?" Luke asked.

"No, but we all know how much he cared about that," Lorelai said. "Anyways, how are we going to tell the town? I'm starting to look pretty obvious."

"I know," Luke replied. "But why do we have to have some huge announcement? Can't we just spread the word like a normal couple?"

"You're right," Lorelai said. "And besides, all we have to do is tell Patty and Babette and the entire town will know within a matter of minutes."

"Good point," Luke said with a laugh.

XXXXXX

When they pulled up in front of the house, Rory was waiting for them on the porch. Lorelai jumped out of the car practically before it had even stopped, and ran to hug her daughter.

"Mom, I missed you," Rory said as she hugged Lorelai tightly.

"I missed you too, kid," Lorelai replied.

"How was Cape Cod?" Rory asked as they finally pulled away from each other.

"Great," Lorelai replied. "We'll have to bring you there sometime, it was this place of Luke's friend, and it is absolutely gorgeous. Maybe next summer after the baby gets here."

"Hey Rory," Luke said, coming up to them carrying one of the suitcases.

"Hi, Daddy," Rory replied, giving him a quick hug. "I hope you had a good time too."

Luke felt his heart swell as he heard Rory call him Daddy. "I did," he said.

"Okay, hon, now I have to ask you why you're here instead of studying for your finals," Lorelai said to Rory as they made their way into the house.

"Rory, you have finals?" Luke asked. "Why didn't you tell me that?"

Rory looked guilty. "I wanted to see you," she said. "And hear about the honeymoon, see how the baby's doing. And I knew that if I had told you that I had finals, you would have told me to stay at school."

"Hon, your education is very important," Lorelai said softly. "We're touched that you wanted to come home, but it's really important that you do well on your exams."

"I know," Rory replied. "So tell me what you did and then I can be out of here faster."

"Well, Luke here has been doing some reading," Lorelai said, giving her husband a pointed look.

"I think I'm going to head to the diner now," Luke said as he walked towards the door.

"What kind of reading?" Rory asked, intrigued.

"Well, when I woke up from a nap one day, there he was on the couch, reading _What to Expect when you're Expecting, _looking as cute as ever," Lorelai said.

"That's so cute!" Rory cried before both of them erupted into giggles.

Luke closed the door quickly behind him, but he couldn't help the smile that came across his face at the fact that the girls were so amused by him.

**Okay, so I am having a major case of writer's block as to what to do next. I have a couple different directions that I could go in, but I want to know if people are still interested in the story. If not, then I'll wrap it up in the next chapter or two, but if you are, please let me know and tell me where you would like the story to go. It would help me out a LOT! Thanks!**


	22. News and Arguements

"Are you excited?" Lorelai asked two weeks later.

Luke looked at her from the driver's seat of the Jeep. "Yeah," he said. "Our lives are about to change."

"Finding out if we're going to have a Lucas Jr," Lorelai said, ignoring Luke's discouraging frown. "Or another little Lorelai."

"We are not naming our son after me," Luke replied.

"Why not? I named Rory after me," Lorelai said.

"That's different," Luke replied. "She goes by Rory, not Lorelai."

"Yeah, I guess it would be a little weird to have two Lukes," Lorelai admitted.

Luke pulled into the parking lot and shut off the engine, then turned to look at Lorelai. "You ready?" he asked.

"Yup," Lorelai replied. As they walked hand in hand into the doctor's office, Lorelai said, "So I left my Fit Pregnancy magazine on the top of the recycle bin this morning."

"So?" Luke asked as he opened the door.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "So….Everyone knows that Babette will come snooping around and see it, meaning that everyone in the town probably already knows that I'm pregnant."

"Good," Luke replied. "It was a dumb idea to call a town meeting to announce it."

"Hey, that was Sookie's idea, not mine," Lorelai replied.

"I know," Luke replied.

"So now's the fun part," Lorelai continued. "Everyone's going to be watching us and buying us presents."

"Damn small town," Luke said. "Why can't they just mind their own business?"

"Okay, grumpy, you sit there while I check us in," Lorelai said with a smile.

When she returned to his side a few minutes later, Lorelai looked at Luke. "You know that they're just trying to show us they care," she said. "In their own weird way."

"I know," Luke replied. "But when they start betting on whether the baby is going to be a boy or a girl, then I'll have something to say about it."

Lorelai laughed and patted his leg. "Then I give you permission to do whatever you want to them," she said.

A nurse appeared in the doorway. "Mr. and Mrs. Danes?"

Lorelai smiled as she stood up and followed the nurse, Luke following closely behind her. After taking Lorelai's weight and asking her the routine questions, the nurse handed her a hospital gown and told her the doctor would be in shortly.

"Luke, this is so exciting!" Lorelai said as she settled herself onto the examining table. "We're going to see our baby again!"

"I know," Luke replied. "But I still wish it would kick."

Lorelai rested a hand on her belly. "I can feel it," she said. "You probably won't have to wait too much longer."

The door opened and Dr. Tompkins entered. "Hello, Lorelai, Luke," he said. "I understand congratulations are in order."

Lorelai smiled as she intertwined her fingers with Luke's. "Thanks," she said.

"So do you have any questions before we get started?" Dr. Tompkins asked.

"Yes, is it normal that the baby still isn't moving enough for me to feel it?" Luke asked.

"Well, Lorelai is four months along, well into her second trimester," Dr. Tompkins replied. "And the measurements look good, so the baby should be developing normally. Now there is no exact time to say when the baby will start moving, but within the next couple of weeks it should be start moving."

Luke nodded, and Dr. Tompkins reached to turn on the ultrasound machine.

"We want to see if we can find out if it's a boy or a girl," Lorelai said.

"Usually that's possible at this time of the pregnancy, but it just depends on the position of the baby," Dr. Tompkins said. "Ready for the cold?"

Lorelai nodded and gasped only a little when se felt the gel on her stomach, but adjusted quickly. When Dr. Tompkins ran the wand over her stomach and the image appeared on the screen.

"There's the baby," he said, pointing. He moved the wand around, examining the screen closely. "Everything looks normal. Let me see if I can get to a position so we can see the sex."

Lorelai felt Luke squeeze her hand and she smiled up at him for a moment before she returned her eyes to the screen.

"All right," Dr. Tompkins said. "You're sure you want to know?"

Luke and Lorelai both nodded eagerly. "You're having a boy," Dr. Tompkins said softly.

"A boy…" Lorelai whispered, slowly moving her gaze to look at Luke. "A boy, Luke."

"A son," Luke repeated. "Wow…"

"I'll go print out the pictures and give you two a moment," Dr. Tompkins said as he stepped out of the room.

Lorelai leaned forward and pressed her lips to Luke's. "This is so amazing," she said. "A little boy."

"Thank you," Luke whispered. "Thank you so much."

"And thank you," Lorelai replied. She raised a hand to stroke his cheek. "I never thought I would have a son."

Luke placed a soft kiss on her hand, then Lorelai started to get dressed. When Dr. Tompkins came back a few minutes later, he handed the pictures to Luke and said, "Your next appointment should be at the beginning of the third trimester, and then you'll be coming every other week."

"Thank you, Dr." Lorelai said as she took Luke's hand.

When they were back in the car, Lorelai turned to Luke and said, "So, who should we call first?"

"Rory," Luke immediately replied.

"Okay," Lorelai replied. "But I'll just tell her to come home. I want to tell her together."

Luke smiled and reached over to take her hand.

XXXX

When they drove into the driveway half an hour later, Luke asked, "What the hell is going on?"

There was a group of people, with Babette and Patty in the front, mulling around in the front yard.

"Well, I'll put my money on Babette finding the pregnancy magazine," Lorelai replied.

"And now they're going to be watching us constantly," Luke replied.

Lorelai patted his leg. "Hey, you live here, babe," she said.

"We should consider moving," Luke grumbled.

"Oh, cheer up," Lorelai said good naturedly. "How often to you get to announce that you're going to have a son?"

That brought a grin to Luke's face. "You're right," he said with a sigh.

They got out of the car and Babette immediately walked over to Lorelai. "Suga, is it true?" she asked. "Are you pregnant?"

"Yes, Babette," Lorelai replied.

"Is that why you got married?" Patty asked.

"No," Lorelai replied. "It just worked out that way."

Luke, who was standing off to the side, rolled his eyes when Kirk approached him. "What do you want, Kirk?"

"Well, I just received my First Aid and child care certification from the state of Connecticut…" Kirk began.

"No chance in hell, Kirk," Luke said.

"But Luke…"

"You're never going to be responsible for my son."

"Even if…"

"Never going to happen."

Kirk sighed and walked away, defeated. Lorelai walked over to Luke and slipped her arm through his as they began walking towards the house.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Lorelai asked as Luke unlocked the door.

"Kirk wants to be in charge of baby sitting," Luke replied.

Lorelai's hands instinctively went to her belly, as if protecting her baby from the words. "No way is he ever coming near our baby," she said.

"That's what I said," Luke replied, ushering Lorelai into the house.

"Good boy," Lorelai said, giving him a quick peck as she walked towards the couch. "Can you press the messages?" she asked as Luke walked into the kitchen.

Luke pressed the button, and they both immediately regretted his doing so.

"Lorelai, this is your mother. I read about your wedding in the paper. Honestly, Lorelai, not even informing us of when your marriage is. Do you have any idea how humiliating it is to explain to our friends that we weren't even aware that our daughter was getting married, let alone why they weren't invited? And those were the same people we had to explain why you never graduated high school. And now you're pregnant, Lorelai, this is absolutely…"

The machine cut Emily's message off, and Lorelai buried her face in her hands. "Oh my God, Luke," she groaned. "Why does she have to spoil every good moment of my life?"

Luke sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her. "Maybe you should call her," he said softly. "Just to explain things to her."

Lorelai sighed. "I should," she said softly. "I mean, they are paying for Yale and everything."

Luke cleared his throat. "Uh, you know, we're married now," he started.

Lorelai laughed as she lifted her head to look at him. "Is that why I've been wearing this band on my finger for the past couple days?" she asked in amusement.

"What I meant," Luke said with an exaggerated eye roll. "Is that we're married, and I have some money saved away."

Lorelai sat up and stared at Luke seriously. "What are you saying?" she asked.

"I want to pay for Yale," Luke replied.

"Luke, no," Lorelai replied immediately.

"Why not?" Luke asked. "It's not like it was a few years ago. We're married now, you're not taking a loan from me."

"Luke, you've worked hard for that money," Lorelai replied. "really, I would rather that you save the money for something you want."

"I want to do this," Luke replied.

"Well, then we can save it for this little one's college tuition," Lorelai replied. "Luke, I can't ask you to give away all the money you've worked so hard for to pay for Rory's school. Especially since my parents are paying for it."

Luke looked down at his lap. "I thought we were in this together," he said. "I consider Rory my daughter just as much as I consider that baby my son."

Lorelai leaned forward and cradled Luke's face in her hands. "I know you do," she said. "And that's why I love you. But my parents get a cheaper deal for being alumni anyways. It works well."

"Except she's keeping this over your head," Luke countered.

"Why are you making such a big deal out of this?" Lorelai asked.

"Because every time that you have any contact with your mother, you come home moping and crying, and it takes you days to get back to normal!" Luke replied.

"So it's so terrible having to comfort me," Lorelai replied. "So bad that you would offer to pay thousands of dollars a year to get out of it."

"That's not…" Luke paused in mid argument. "Is this a mood swing?" he asked. "Cause you haven't really had any of those, but I was kind of hoping…."

He was interrupted when Lorelai rolled her eyes and stood from the couch. She marched up the stairs and a moment later Luke heard the door to their bedroom slam loudly.

With a sigh, he climbed the stairs and knocked on the door. "Lorelai?" no response. "I'm sorry, Lorelai. I shouldn't have said those things. And I think it's fine that you're okay with your parents paying for Yale."

The door opened and Lorelai stood before him, looking angrier that he'd ever seen her. He instinctively took a step backwards.

"Yale?" Lorelai cried. "Luke, this is not about Yale! This is about you hating me!"

"What?" Luke asked. "Lorelai, that is the stupidest thing I ever heard."

"Great, so now I'm stupid," Lorelai replied with a sniffle.

"Lorelai!" Luke said firmly. "Would I have planned that entire wedding for you if I didn't love you? Would I be here right now? You know that I love you more than life itself."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she said. "Just…go to the diner or something."

"I'm not going anywhere," Luke replied, folding his arms across his chest and staring at her.

Lorelai slammed the door in his face.

With a sigh, Luke started back down the stairs. He sat down on the couch and buried his head in his hands. He didn't even know how his offer to pay for Rory's school had turned into an argument about the sincerity of his love for her.

XXXXX

That night, Lorelai sat on her bed, flipping through a magazine. She wasn't mad anymore, but she didn't want to break down and tell Luke that she didn't even know why she had gotten mad at him in the first place. So she'd stayed in the room all night.

A knock on the door brought her back to reality. "Lorelai? Are you going to come out yet? Because it's getting kind of late."

"There are extra blankets in the closet downstairs," Lorelai replied.

"Lorelai, can't we talk about this?" Luke pleaded. "You can't stay locked up there forever."

"Good night, Luke," Lorelai replied.

With a sigh, Luke turned and walked down the stairs. He set up the couch, but when he lay down, sleep was the last thing on his mind.

As he lay in bed staring at the ceiling, he wondered if there was something that he should have done differently, to make Lorelai less mad at him. He felt guilty, even though deep down he knew that it was mood swing and she would get over it.

Suddenly, there were footsteps on the stairs. Luke turned to see Lorelai standing on the landing, looking down at him. "Luke?" she asked timidly.

Luke immediately scooted over on the couch bed so that she would have room to climb in with him.

"I'm sorry," Lorelai whispered as she rested her head on his chest and clung to him tightly.

"It's okay," Luke replied.

"No, it's not," Lorelai replied. "I got so upset with you, and I don't even know why."

"It's just part of the deal," Luke replied. "I'm tough, I can handle being yelled at every now and then."

Lorelai smiled slightly. "All I could think about was you sleeping down here alone, and I just…I couldn't even remember why I was so mad at you."

"It's okay, Lorelai," Luke assured her. "I know that your body's going through a lot of big changes right now. Beautiful ones," he added quickly when he saw the expression on Lorelai's face.

"You're so good to me," Lorelai whispered, pressing her forehead to his. "I hate to ruin this happy time in our lives by bringing my mother in."

"Just call her and see what she wants," Luke replied. "Maybe she just wants to see what's going on with the baby."

Lorelai shrugged. "I'll call her in the morning," she replied. "But for now…we've got some major make up sex in our near future."

Luke grinned as she pulled on his hand and led him up the stairs.

XXXXXXXX

The next morning, at the inn, Lorelai wandered into the kitchen. "Sookie, do you need help with anything?" she asked.

Sookie smiled. "No, Lorelai," she replied. "And I know that you're just putting off calling your mother."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "I don't want to talk to her," she replied. "Not after she insulted Luke and sent Christopher to the house to try and break us up again. And now…"

"Lorelai, there is a woman here to see you," Michel interrupted, stepping into the kitchen.

"Who?" Lorelai asked.

Michel rolled his eyes. "I am not a secretary," he replied. "Find out for yourself."

Lorelai rolled her eyes at Sookie, then pushed past Michel. When she got to the front desk, she stopped short when she saw her mother sitting on a chair in front of the window.

"Mom?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

Emily stood up. "Hello, Lorelai," she said. "You look wonderful."

Lorelai stood silently for a moment before she said, "Thank you."

"Is there somewhere we might be able to speak in private?" Emily asked.

"What's wrong with right here?" Lorelai asked.

"I want to have a private discussion with you, Lorelai," Emily replied. "I tried to do that by leaving a message on your machine, but you didn't seem to have the common courtesy to call you back."

"I didn't get the message til late, Mom," Lorelai lied. "And I was going to call you back today. But since you're here, you might as well tell me what you want."

Emily stood tall for a moment, then said, "I want to know why you didn't invite us to your wedding."

Lorelai sighed. "The wedding was a present, Mom," she said. "I didn't know about it until I got there."

"That's ridiculous," Emily replied. "Who planned the wedding?"

"Luke," Lorelai replied. "Now, do you have something that you actually wanted to do besides criticize my husband?"

Emily pursed her lips. "I'm happy for you, Lorelai," she said. "I want you to know that."

Lorelai looked at her closely for a moment. "Thank you," she said.

"And I want to be here for your baby," Emily added. "I missed watching Rory grow up."

"Mom, I'm not going to stop you from seeing this baby," Lorelai replied. "But the second you start telling me and Luke how to raise him, it's going to be over."

"Him?" Emily repeated. "You're having a boy?"

Lorelai softened as she saw Emily's excitement. "Yes," she replied.

"That's wonderful, Lorelai," Emily said.

"Thank you," Lorelai replied.

"And…when you're ready, I'd really like you to come back to Friday Night Dinner," Emily said.

Lorelai nodded. "Maybe I'll come this week," she said. "I'll have to check with Luke though."

Emily nodded. "All right," she said. "Just give me a call when you've figured out whether you can come or not. I'll let you get back to work now."

Lorelai nodded. "Thanks for coming by, Mom," she said.

Emily smiled, surprised at Lorelai's statement. "You're welcome," she replied.

Lorelai watched her mother leave, and she couldn't help but wonder if things were going to be different.

As she walked around the desk, the phone rang and she reached for it.

"Dragonfly Inn, Lorelai speaking."

"Lorelai, I think you should come home."

"Luke?" Lorelai asked, feeling a sudden panic. "What's wrong?"

"Well, Rory came to the diner to talk to me…" Luke started. "And, well, I think that you need to come home and talk to her."

"Is she okay?" Lorelai asked as she grabbed her keys and purse from her office.

"Yes," Luke replied. "But…hurry. Be careful, but hurry."

Lorelai knew that something must have really been up. Luke never acted so evasive unless he was hiding something or he was really concerned about something. Either way, she knew that she had to get home quickly to see what was going on.


	23. Too Much

When Lorelai rushed into the house ten minutes later, Luke was pacing the living room. She dropped her purse on the floor next to the couch and walked over to him.

"Luke?" she asked. "What's going on? Where's Rory?"

"She's in her room," Luke replied. "I think you should talk to her."

Lorelai rushed to Rory's room and knocked on the door before she pushed it open gently. Rory was curled up on the bed, wearing sweats, facing away from the door.

"Rory?" she asked softly as she walked over to the bed and sat down, putting a gentle hand on her back. "What's wrong?"

Rory sat up and wiped her tears away. "I need to tell you something," she said softly. "And I need you to not say anything about it."

Lorelai swallowed hard, wondering what kind of trouble was in. She knew that whatever it was, she would be behind her; she'd gone through too much with her parents to criticize her own daughter.

"What is it, babe?"

"I'm dropping out of Yale."

Lorelai's jaw dropped. "What?" she asked.

"I just…so much is going on here," Rory replied. "I don't want to miss any of it. And at Yale… I just don't like it."

"What happened?" Lorelai asked softly. "You love school. You love learning."

"I know," Rory replied. "But I don't have to go to Yale to learn."

"Rory..." Lorelai sighed. "I don't know what to say about this."

"I'm doing this," Rory replied. "I need some time to figure out what I want to do."

"You want to be a journalist," Lorelai argued.

"I've said that for years," Rory replied. "But if I really want to do something else? I just want to take some time, be here for you and Luke and the baby. Is that so bad?"

"Look, Rory, I told you I wouldn't get upset," Lorelai said. "I'm going to go process this information and calm down a little bit before I can really talk about this."

Rory watched, stunned as Lorelai stood and started to walk out the door.

"I got into a fight with Luke," Rory said as Lorelai reached the door. "I've never fought with Luke before."

Lorelai smiled slightly. "He wants what's best for you, hun," she said. "And, well, he's not really used to dealing with troublesome children."

Rory nodded. "He yelled at me. In the diner."

Lorelai crossed the room and placed a kiss on the top of Rory's head. "He thinks you're making a mistake," she said. "I'll talk to him, but he only did that because he wants what's best for you."

"I love you, Mom," Rory whispered.

"I love you too, kid," Lorelai replied. "Now, let's both calm down, and then tonight we can order Chinese from Al's and have a calm, rational talk. Okay?"

"Okay," Rory replied.

Lorelai walked out of the room and into the living room, where Luke was now sitting on the couch, drumming his hands on his legs nervously. When Lorelai sat down next to him, he looked at her expectantly. "Did you talk to her?" he asked.

"Yes," Lorelai replied, taking his hand and resting her head on his shoulder.

"And?" Luke prompted impatiently.

"And…I'm not happy about it, but I need to think this out before I can talk to her in a civilized way," Lorelai replied.

Luke didn't say anything, and she craned her head to look at him. "Luke, don't feel guilty," she said. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"I embarrassed her," Luke replied. "I just…I couldn't believe what she was telling me, and I exploded. I didn't know how to react."

"It's okay," Lorelai replied. "She's upset, but I think you need to calm down too. We'll all have dinner to night and talk about this like adults.

"Lorelai, how did you know what to do?" Luke asked desperately. "I mean, I feel bad about losing it with Rory, but she can handle herself. What happens when our baby does something wrong? I can't yell like that at a little kid."

"You'll learn, Luke," Lorelai said softly. "I have no doubt of that."

Luke sighed as he leaned his head down against the top of Lorekai's head. "What are we going to do about Rory?" he asked.

Lorelai sat up and sighed. "She's pretty determined," she said. "I guess what we'll have to do is let her do things her way."

"And let her drop out of Yale?" Luke asked. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I know Rory pretty well," Lorelai replied. "She loves to learn. And I think that if she takes time off, she'll realize how much she loves learning and she'll want to go back. By then it might just be an issue of whether the school will let her back in again."

"That's a pretty big risk," Luke commented.

"I know," Lorelai replied. "And we'll have to make sure that Rory knows that."

"How come you're not more upset about this?" Luke asked.

Lorelai looked down for a moment before she raised her gaze to meet Luke's eyes. "I know it might sound selfish," she said softly. "But part of me wants to have some time with her here all the time. I've really missed her over the past couple of years."

Luke kissed the top of her head. "We'll get through this," he said. "Rory's a smart kid."

"Yeah, we will," Lorelai replied as she snuggled into him, drawing strength from his embrace.

XXXXXX

After Luke returned with the Chinese food, the three of them settled into the living room to be comfortable for their conversation.

Luke started things, clearing his throat before he said, "Uh, Rory, I want to say that I'm sorry for what happened in the diner this afternoon. I overreacted, and I shouldn't have blown up at you."

"It's okay, Luke," Rory replied. "I know that I kind of dropped a bomb in your lap."

"Rory, we know that you think you know what you're doing," Lorelai said. "But we want to make sure that you've really thought this through. Are you ever going to go back to school?"

"Eventually," Rory replied.

"Well, then you're going to have to consider the fact that Yale might not take you back," Lorelai continued.

"I know."

"And you can live here, but you're going to get a job," Lorelai continued. "And start paying for some of the expenses around here."

"Okay."

"And…well, I want you to promise me that you won't depend on us forever," Lorelai said. "I want to know that if we do this, if we support you, then you're going to take your future seriously and go back to school, eventually learn to support yourself."

"I know," Rory said softly. "Are you sure that you're okay with this?"

Lorelai and Luke looked at each other for a moment. "I'm not thrilled," Lorelai replied. "But you're a smart girl, Rory. A lot smarter than I am. I trust you to know yourself and know what you're doing. And I know what happened when my parents tried to control my life. I don't want that to happen to you, so I'm trying to handle this right."

Rory set her plate aside and leaned in to give Lorelai a hug. "I love you, Mom," she said. "Thank you for making this easy for me."

"I love you too," Lorelai replied.

Rory pulled back, then stepped over to give Luke a hug. "Thanks, Dad," she whispered.

"You're welcome," Luke said as he hugged her back. "I'm sorry about this afternoon."

"It's okay," Rory replied as she sat back down and picked up her plate.

"All right, enough with the serious discussions," Lorelai said. "Who wants to watch the Princess Bride?"

Rory nodded excitedly as she chewed, while Luke groaned. "Do we have to watch that?" he asked. "Can't watch a movie that we all like?"

"Like what?" Lorelai asked.

Luke shrugged. "The Godfather?" he suggested.

"I'm not really in a Godfather moon," Lorelai said.

"Two to one, Dad," Rory agreed. "Sorry."

Luke rolled his eyes. "I can't wait til the baby's born," he muttered. "At least then I'll have someone on my side."

Lorelai smiled as she returned to Luke's side. "Don't worry, hon," she said. "We can watch the Godfather after the Princess Bride."

Luke smiled down at her. "Thanks," he said. "I appreciate it."

"Well, I figured that we might as well give Luke Jr. an opinion even though he's not watching with us," Lorelai replied.

"Are you really going to name the baby after Luke?" Rory asked.

"No," Luke replied.

"I was thinking we'll use it for a middle name," Lorelai replied.

"Lorelai, no," Luke insisted.

"We'll talk about it later, Luke," Lorelai said. "We have five months."

She turned to Rory, who was staring at her stomach. "Rory?" she asked.

"Yeah?" Rory asked.

"What are you staring at?"

"It's just…it's so cool," Rory replied. "That my brother's in there."

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, it is pretty cool, isn't it?" she asked.

Rory smiled up at her mother for a moment before she returned her attention to the movie.

XXXXXX

Later that night, as Luke and Lorelai were getting ready to go to bed, Luke commented, "You know, there's one thing that we haven't thought about."

"What?" Lorelai asked as she slid under the covers.

"Where's the baby going to live?" Luke asked.

Lorelai frowned as she watched him take off his jeans and flannel shirt. "I don't know," she said. "I never thought of that."

"Well, there are a couple options," Luke said. "We can add onto this house."

"What else is there?" Lorelai asked. "There aren't a whole lot of places to add anything onto this house, but that's what we'll have to do."

"Unless…you want to think about moving," Luke suggested tentatively.

Lorelai stared at him blankly.

"Lorelai?" Luke asked after several seconds. "Are you okay? We can just forget it if you want to."

Lorelai turned to face him. "You don't mean leave Stars Hollow, right?" she asked. "Because I have the inn, and you have the diner, and Sookie's here, and Rory has Lane, and…"

"We don't have to leave Stars Hollow if you don't want to," Luke replied. "But…moving might be a simpler situation than having all kinds of construction going on around here while you're pregnant."

Lorelai nodded, but she said, "Luke, this is a big decision for me. I've never thought about leaving here. I worked so hard to save up for a house for me and Rory, and we have a lot of memories here. I just…this was our first house. It means a lot to me, and leaving it would be hard."

Luke leaned forward and kissed her gently. "Take as much time as you need," he said. "And if you don't want to do this, that's fine with me. We can fix this place up."

"Okay," Lorelai said softly. "Good night, Luke."

"Good night," Luke replied softly.

XXXX

When Luke's alarm went off at five thirty the next morning, he turned to check on Lorelai and was surprised that she wasn't there. With a frown he got up and pulled a pair of sweatpants on before walking out of the room.

He found her five minutes later, sitting on the couch in living room and flipping through a photo album. He looked down at her for a moment, then walked the rest of the way down the stairs. "Hey," he said gently. "What are you doing down here?"

Lorelai looked up and smiled at him as she moved over on the couch to make room for him. "Just looking at some old pictures," she said. "Remembering Rory as a baby, wondering what our little boy is going to be like."

"He's going to be perfect," Luke whispered as he pulled her close.

Lorelai smiled as she turned the page and looked at a picture of her and Rory on the porch of the house. "This was the day we moved in here," she said. "God, I still remember how proud I was of myself that day. I wanted to run to Hartford and scream that I had done it, all by myself. I'd earned a living, bought a house for me and my daughter."

Luke kissed the top of her head. "You had good reason to be proud of yourself," he said. "I'm still proud of you."

"There's so much going on right now, Luke," Lorelai said as she closed the album and leaned into him. "The baby, my mother starting to be nice to me, Rory's sudden change in life goals. I just…I don't know if I can handle all of that and move at the same time."

"Okay," Luke said. "I don't want you to do anything that you don't feel comfortable doing."

"But the baby does need a place to go," Lorelai said. "I mean, when I bought this house I never really thought that there would be anyone besides me and Rory living here. But now…"

"Hey, it's okay," Luke said. "I'll call Tom later and see what he thinks he can do. He was a huge help when I was converting the diner from the hardware store."

"You don't mind?" she asked. "I mean, we might have to move later, especially if…" she trailed off, and Luke tilted her face up to meet his.

"Especially if what?" he asked curiously.

"If we want to have more kids," Lorelai said softly, biting her lower lip, waiting for Luke's reaction.

Luke smiled down at her. "You'd really want more kids?" he asked.

Lorelai shrugged. "Well, it's been a long time since I had to take care of a baby, but I still love being a mom," she said. "And I wouldn't have changed the way that things happened for anything. I got Rory, and if I hadn't run away, we probably never would have met. But I guess in the back of my mind' I've always wanted that American Dream. You know, husbands, kids, white picket fence."

"I'll keep that in mind," Luke replied with a smile. "And I know that we weren't planning on having a baby now, but I'm thrilled. And eventually it might be nice to have more kids."

Lorelai leaned forward and kissed him gently. "thank you for being so understanding about this," she said softly. "I knew that there was a reason that I kept you around."

"I aim to please," Luke replied.

Lorelai laughed as she leaned into him. "I don't want to go to the inn today," she said. "I'm too tired.

Luke frowned down at her. "Did you sleep at all last night?" he asked.

"I tossed and turned for an hour or so," Lorelai replied. "I guess I just had too much on my mind."

"Go back to bed," Luke ordered. "I'll call Sookie later and tell her that you're not feeling well."

"I have to go to work," Lorelai mumbled as her eyes drifted shut, her head resting on Luke's shoulder.

"Come on, let's get you to bed," Luke said, helping her stand up. Lorelai leaned heavily on him as they walked towards the stairs.

XXXXX

When Rory walked into the diner later that day, Luke smiled at her as he poured her a cup of coffee. "Morning," he said as he slid it across the counter to her.

"Morning," Rory replied. "Where's Mom?"

"She went back to bed," Luke replied. "She wasn't feeling well."

"Oh," Rory replied. "Well, I was just going to go out job hunting. I wanted to have breakfast with her, but I guess I'll eat at the counter here instead."

"Sorry, I guess my company will have to do," Luke replied.

"I don't mind at all," Rory said with a smile.

"So do you have any place in mind to work?" Luke asked.

Rory shrugged. "I was going to talk to Andrew and see if I could get a job at the bookstore until I fin d something a little more permanent," she said.

Luke nodded. "I'm sure you'll find something," he said. "And you know that if you ever need an extra few dollars, you're more than welcome to take some orders around here."

"Thanks," Rory said. "But I'd kind of like to do this on my own. Without help from my parents."

Luke opened his mouth to speak, but before he could answer, Rory's cell phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered, ignoring Luke's finger that was pointing towards the door. "Hi Grandma…what?...Grandma, I just decided that I need some time off…I did, and she's fine with it…No, Grandma, wait!"

As Rory hung up the phone, Luke had a pretty good idea of what had happened. "Your grandma found out about your plan?" he asked sympathetically.

"Yeah," Rory replied. "And she's coming to the house. She said she needs to have an important discussion like this face to face."

Luke winced. This was not going to be pretty. From what he had seen, when Emily Gilmore was mad, she was not someone that anyone wanted to encounter.

"I don't want her to upset Mom," Rory said.

"Maybe she'll sleep through it," Luke suggested doubtfully.

"I have to get home and warn her," Rory said, standing as she drained the last of her coffee.

"I'll come with you," Luke said as he untied his apron.

"You don't have to do that, Dad," Rory said. "I know that you're not exactly best friends with her."

Luke put his hands on Rory's shoulders and guided her towards the door. "Rory, we decided that you're my daughter, right?" he asked.

"Right," Rory replied.

"And fathers watch out for their daughters," Luke said as he got into the truck. "I don't know a lot about this parenting thing, but that much I know."

"You're better than my dad," Rory said. "I mean, my real dad. You're always there, and that means more to me than you'll ever know."

Luke smiled over at her before he returned his attention to the road.

XXXX

A few minutes later, Luke pushed the door to their bedroom open. Lorelai was spread out over the bed, her hair falling in her face. Luke smiled for a moment, looking down at her and marveling at her beauty, even as she slept.

When Lorelai shifted slightly, he moved to the bed and sat down on the edge. He brushed some hair out of her eyes before he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Lorelai," he whispered. "Hon, wake up."

Lorelai groaned as she opened her eyes. "Luke?" she asked. "Why are you waking me up? What time is it?"

Luke glanced at the clock. "It's ten thirty. I hate to wake you, but I think Rory might need you," he said.

"Why?" Lorelai asked as she sat up.

"Well, somehow your mother found out about Rory's plan to take some time off," Luke started.

"How?" Lorelai asked.

"I don't know," Luke replied. "But, um, she's on her way here. She wants to talk to Rory in person."

Lorelai groaned and fell back against the pillows. "Luke, can we please please move to some far off isolated place where my parents will never find us?" she asked.

Luke leaned down and hovered over her. "Sorry," he said. "I'm pretty sure that your mother would find us anywhere we go."

Lorelai crinkled her nose. "Yeah, that woman has the nose of a bloodhound," she agreed. With a sigh she sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. As she reached for her pants, the doorbell rang. Lorelai groaned, then hurried into her clothes.

"Can you please go down there and try to keep peace for five minutes while I change my clothes and pee?" she asked.

Luke leaned in and kissed her. "No problem," he said as he walked towards the door.

"Thanks, babe," Lorelai called after him.

Lorelai dressed quickly, hoping that there was a way that she could mediate things between her mother and Rory so that they could come to some sort of reasonable agreement.

But she knew that that was a false hope.


	24. The Emergency Room

**I hope you enjoy, let me know what you think!**

When Lorelai walked downstairs a few minutes later, she could practically reach out and grab a handful of tension from the air. Luke's eyes showed obvious relief as he stood, and she smiled nervously.

"Hi, Mom," she said. "What are you doing here?"

"I think you know why I'm here, Lorelai," Emily snapped. "And I want to know what's going on."

"Grandma, this was my decision," Rory said. "Mom and Dad don't have anything to do with it."

Emily stared at Rory. "First of all, young lady, this man is not your father," she said. "Christopher is your father, and if he knew about this he would be absolutely appalled."

"But he doesn't know about this," Rory replied. "Because he doesn't care!"

"Rory, that's ridiculous," Emily replied. "He's your father, of course he cares about your education."

"Then how come he didn't offer to help pay for Chilton? Or Yale?" Rory asked. "He doesn't care, Grandma. He stops by here a couple times a year, yeah, he says it's to see me, but ultimately, every time he comes here he ends up trying to get back together with Mom. He doesn't care about me as much as Luke does."

"This is not what I came here to discuss," Emily said. "This is a conversation for another time." She turned to Lorelai. "Why are you letting her do this?" she asked.

Lorelai sighed. "Mom, I really don't need your advice on how to raise Rory."

"I can't believe this, Lorelai," Emily said. "I would have thought that you wouldn't want your daughter to throw her life away like you did with yours."

"Oh my God," Lorelai said. "How many times do we have to go through this? I did not throw my life away! I made a mistake, yes, but what became of that mistake is something that I would never give up. Rory's my life, Mom, she has been ever since the strip turned pink. And I can't believe that now, twenty one years later, you're still holding that over my head."

"This isn't about you, this is about Rory," Emily replied. "She knows that you just live by your own free will, you never do what you should, you do what you want. And now she's doing the same thing and ruining her own life because that's precisely what you did!"

"Grandma, that's not true!" Rory cried. "Why aren't you listening to me? I told you, I'm an adult, I can make my own decisions!"

"And your mother needs to know that when you make poor decisions she has to interfere for your benefit," Emily replied.

"No!" Rory cried. "Don't you get it? That's what's wrong with your relationship with Mom. You tried to interfere in her life, and that's why she ran away with me when I was a baby. Why can't you see that interfering with someone else's decisions is not what's best for them?"

Emily stared at Rory. "I do not appreciate that tone, young lady," she said.

Luke, who was standing with Lorelai next to the stairs, turned to look at her when he heard her gasp quietly. "Are you okay?" he asked, growing concerned when he saw her holding onto her stomach. "Lorelai, what's wrong?"

"It hurts, Luke," Lorelai said as she reached for his hand. "The baby…"

"What's wrong?" Luke repeated.

"I don't know," Lorelai said.

"Okay, okay, let's get you to the hospital," Luke said, trying to stay calm for Lorelai's sake. He guided her towards the door, and when Rory saw them se frowned and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," Luke said. "We've got to take her to the hospital."

"Luke," Lorleai whispered. "What about the baby?"

"The baby's fine," Luke said gently. "We're just going to go, and they'll probably give you some medicine or something."

"I'm coming with you," Rory said as she followed them out to the car, leaving Emily staring after them in shock.

"Rory, you drive," Luke said, handing her the keys to the jeep. "I'll sit in back with her."

As Rory rushed them to the hospital, Luke could see that there was something really wrong with Lorelai. She was leaning on him, and he could see a thin layer of sweat beginning to cover her forehead. He swallowed hard and held her tightly, hoping that there was nothing seriously wrong with either her or the baby.

When they got to the hospital, Luke helped Lorelai out of the car and into the Emergency Room. He helped her sit down in a chair, then knelt down in front of her. "I'm going to go get a nurse okay?" he said softly. "I'll be right back."

Lorelai nodded distractedly. "Hurry," she said softly.

Luke stood and hurried over to the desk. "Excuse me," he said to the nurse. "My wife is pregnant, and she says that something hurts, and I think she's a little delusional. I need someone to help her, now."

"All right," the nurse said as she stood up and came around to the waiting room. She took a wheelchair from the corner and followed Luke over to Lorelai. "What's her name?" she asked Luke.

"Lorelai."

She nodded as she knelt down in front of Lorelai. "Lorelai?" she said softly. "My name is Stephanie, and I'm going to help you feel better, okay? Can you understand me?"

Lorelai nodded slightly. "I need Luke," she mumbled.

"I'm here, baby," Luke said, bending down and taking her hand. "I'm going to help you into the wheelchair, okay?"

Lorelai leaned against him as he transferred her into the wheelchair, then walked beside the nurse as she wheeled Lorelai to the nearest examining table.

"The doctor's on his way," she said softly to Lorelai. "We're going to make sure that you're all better, okay?"

Lorelai nodded as she slumped back onto the pillows. Luke watched her, a feeling of helplessness washing over her. "What's wrong with her?" he asked as he brushed some hair out of her face.

"She has a slight fever, and her blood pressure is a little high," the nurse replied. "If she was having abdominal pains, it's possible that she's having Braxton Hicks contractions."

"Oh," Luke said. He'd read about them, and as far as he could tell they were serious but not fatal.

"Sir, I'm going to need you to step outside when the doctor comes in to examine your wide," she said gently.

"What?" Luke asked. "She's my wife."

"I understand sir, but the hospital requires that there aren't any family members present at this kind of examination."

"She's my wife," Luke repeated. "She needs me here."

"It will only for a few minutes," the nurse assured him. "Then you can come back in to hear what the doctor diagnoses."

Luke sighed. He hated leaving Lorelai, but the hospital wasn't giving him much of a choice. He bent down next to Lorelai and kissed her cheek gently. "I'm going to be right outside," he whispered. "The doctor's going to look at you and then I'll be right back in."

"Luke, what about our baby?" Lorelai whispered.

"The baby's going to be fine," Luke whispered back. "You're both going to be fine, but the doctor's going to look at you, just to make sure, okay?"

"Okay," Lorelai replied.

Luke placed another kiss on the top of her head before he stepped back and the nurse gently led him out of the room.

Outside, he stood in the waiting room, to anxious to sit still. He paced the room, wondering what was taking so long. From one wall and down the hall to the coffee machine, he kept his eyes trained on the door from the emergency room to see when the doctors came out to tell him that he could go back to Lorelai.

He felt a tap on his shoulder a few moments later, and he turned to see Rory. She looked up at him with fear in her eyes, and he swallowed hard before he smiled slightly. "The doctors are examining her," he said. "I don't know what's wrong."

Tears filled Rory's eyes. "It's my fault," she whispered. "I was the one who was fighting with Grandma, that made her upset."

Luke took Rory in his arms and held her for a moment. "This isn't your fault," he said softly. "I'm sure that there's nothing seriously wrong. She has a lot going on right now, and she probably just got overexhausted. I'm sure that she's going to be fine."

Rory pulled back and looked up at him. Before she could say anything, the door to the Emergency Room opened and a doctor stepped out. "Mr. Danes?" he asked.

Luke untangled himself somewhat from Rory, leaving an arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders. "How's Lorelai?" he asked.

"She'll be fine," the doctor replied. "She was having Braxton-Hicks contractions. Most women experience this at one point in their pregnancy, although it's a little early for your wife. I gave her some prenatal vitamins, and I'm suggesting she rest as much as possible in the next two weeks."

"Can we see her?" Rory asked.

"Yes, but take it easy," the doctor said.

Rory swallowed hard as she followed Luke and the doctor into the Emergency room. When they reached Lorelai, she had to fight back tears. She'd never imagined her mother as weak and fragile as she looked in the hospital bed.

Luke sat down on the edge of her bed and leaned over to press a kiss onto her forehead. "Lorelai," he whispered softly.

Lorelai's eyes fluttered open and she smiled slightly when she saw Luke. "Hi," she said.

"Are you feeling better?" Luke asked.

"A little," Lorelai replied. "They're moving me to a regular room overnight."

Luke nodded. "Does everything feel okay?" he asked. "With you and the baby."

"I think so," Lorelai replied. "But those Braxton-Hicks contractions were pretty painful."

Luke smiled slightly. "I'm glad you're okay," he said.

Lorelai squeezed his hand, then let her gaze travel to Rory. "Hey, kid," she said.

"Hi Mom," Rory said softly. "I'm glad you're okay."

Lorelai tilted her head to the side. "You okay, Rory?" she asked.

Rory nodded. "Yeah," she said. "I just…I've never seen you like this before."

With her free hand, Lorelai reached out to take Rory's. "I'm fine, hon," she said. "I was just getting a little to overwhelmed, and your brother, being the smart little boy that he is, decided to help me take it easy."

Rory leaned down to hug her mother. "I'm sorry if I made you stressed," she said. "I feel like this is all my fault."

Lorelai hugged Rory tightly. "None of this is your fault," she said. "It's not anyone's fault. Rory, I would never in a million years blame you for this, so stop apologizing."

Rory smiled slightly. "Okay," she said.

Lorelai yawned slightly, and Luke patted her thigh. "We'll let you get a little rest," he said. "I'll go home and get some things for you, some more comfortable clothes and a book or something. I'll come back in an hour or two."

"Okay," Lorelai replied, her eyes already closing. "Love you."

"I love you too," Luke whispered.

He and Rory walked out of the hospital and back to the car. As Luke started the jeep and pulled into the street, Rory was silent, staring out her window. Luke knew there was something wrong.

"Rory?" he asked after a few more minutes of silence. "What's wrong?"

Rory sighed as she turned to look at him. "I was just…thinking," she said.

"About?" Luke prompted.

Rory sighed. "I never really understood how my mother felt when I was a baby," she said. "I mean, of course it was hard, and I knew that she didn't get along well with her parents. But today, when my grandmother was yelling at me, for the first time I realized what my mom must feel like every time my grandparents belittle her so much."

Luke sighed. "They love you, Rory," he said. "Both of you. They just…have a weird way of showing it. And I admit that they're not my favorite people, but in their own weird way they're doing what they think is best for you."

"I know," Rory replied. "I just…I feel so bad that I never really understood what Mom went through, and now I do and I have so much sympathy for her."

Luke nodded. "I think she tried to protect you from knowing what she felt like," he said. "And I think she did a pretty good job of raising you all by herself."

"Yeah, me too," Rory replied. "The baby's very lucky. He has two great parents."

Luke smiled over at Rory before he returned his attention to the road.

XXXXX

When Luke entered Lorelai's room later that afternoon, she smiled up at him. "Boy am I glad to see you and not another nurse," she said. "Geez, they're so nosy."

Luke laughed slightly. "I think it's their job to make sure that you're okay," he said.

"I know," Lorelai said with a sigh. "Oh! What did you bring for me?"

Luke smiled as he set the duffel bag he was holding on the edge of her bed. "Some comfortable pajamas," he said. "So you don't have to wear a hospital gown."

"Essential," Lorelai said with a nod.

"The book you were reading," Luke replied.

"Thank you," Lorelai smiled.

"And a double chocolate bar," Luke said.

"Oh my God!" Lorelai cried. "You're the best husband I've ever had!"

"Gee, thanks," Luke replied dryly. He turned serious and asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Almost all the way better," Lorelai said. "I'm sorry if I scared you. I feel so stupid that I made such a big deal and it was really nothing."

"Don't be sorry," Luke said. "If we hadn't taken you here, it probably would have gotten worse."

"You went home and looked it up in the book didn't you?" Lorelai asked with an amused smile.

Luke blushed, and she tugged on his hand to pull him towards her. When their foreheads were touching, she whispered, "This is why I love you," before she pressed her lips against his.

When they pulled apart, Luke pulled a chair over to the bed and sat down in it. When Lorelai frowned down at him, he asked, "What?"

"What are you doing?"

"Sitting."

"Well, get up here and keep me company," Lorelai replied. "I want you close to me."

Luke smiled as he slipped onto the bed next to her. Lorelai smiled as she snuggled close to him. He kissed the top of her head, and a hand traveled down to her belly.

"When can I go home?" Lorelai whispered.

"The doctor said if everything stays the same you can go home tomorrow morning but you'll be on bed rest for a couple of weeks," Luke replied.

Lorelai looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hmm, that might be nice," she said. "You could wait on me hand and foot."

"Like I don't already do that," Luke grumbled good naturedly.

"Like you don't love it," Lorelai said.

"Maybe I don't," Luke countered.

"Ha!" Lorelai cried. She poked him in the chest as she said, "Lucas Danes, I know that you're completely in love with me, and will therefore succumb to my every request."

Luke leaned his head against hers and sighed. "You're right," he said softly.

"I knew it," Lorelai said as she rested her head back against his chest. Just as she was drifting off to sleep, the door opened and a nurse came in with a dinner tray.

"Here's your dinner, Mrs. Danes," she said as she placed it on the table. "Make sure you eat it all to keep strong for the baby."

Luke slid off of the bed as Lorelai rubbed her eyes, and sat up. As she looked at the tray, she made a face and looked up at Luke. "Luke, you're the health food freak," she said. "Please tell me that you don't want me, your wife, the woman who is nourishing your baby, to eat this."

Luke leaned over to look at the food and sighed. "I can run out and get you something else," he said.

"Thank you," Lorelai said sweetly. "I want a double bacon cheeseburger."

"How about a salad?" Luke asked.

"Chicken strips?" Lorelai bargained.

"Deal," Luke said. He leaned in to kiss her, then said, "Get a little rest, I'll be in a little while."

Lorelai lay back against the pillows and nodded. "Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome," Luke replied.

XXXXX

Later that night, Luke and Lorelai were lying on the bed watching TV when a nurse entered. "Visiting hours are over in fifteen minutes," she said.

Lorelai frowned. "Can't he stay the night?" she asked.

"I'm sorry, that's against hospital policy," the nurse replied. She looked at Luke and Lorelai for a moment before she said, "However, after nine thirty, the nurses don't make routine rounds. They'll only come if you call or something's wrong."

Understanding what she meant, Luke and Lorelai both nodded with smiles on their faces. "Thank you," Lorelai said.

"So, should I just go take a walk and come back later?" Luke asked Lorelai.

"No, they'll see you coming back in," Lorelai said. "If a nurse comes in, just go into the bathroom."

Luke laughed slightly. "I feel like a teenager," he said. "Hiding from the parents."

Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Whose bedrooms did you sneak into?" she asked.

Luke smirked. "No one's of course," he said sarcastically. "I was a virgin when I met you. You're the only woman I've ever been with."

Lorelai smacked him in the shoulder. "Haha," she said. "You're just an everyday comedian."

XXXXX

The next morning, Luke was putting the few things that Lorelai had with her in a duffel bag while she was in the bathroom getting dressed. She walked out of the bathroom and announced, "Okay, I'm ready, can we go home now?"

"Sit down," Luke ordered, pointing to the bed. As Lorelai complied, he added. "We have to wait for the doctor. I've told you that about twenty times in the past half an hour."

"I want to go home," Lorelai replied. "Is that so bad?"

"No, but the doctor has to discharge you," Luke replied.

As if on cue, the doctor walked into the room and smiled at them. "All right Mrs. Danes, I just have to give you a few precautions and then you can go."

"Okay," Lorelai said.

"I'm not going to put you on complete bed rest," the doctor said. "But you shouldn't be working, and don't engage yourself in any activity that will be too overexciting. Just take it easy, and if you have anything that you're not sure is okay to do or not, just give me a call."

"Thank you," Lorelai said.

"Here are your discharge papers," the doctor said. "And I hope the rest of your pregnancy is healthy and enjoyable."

"Thanks," Lorelai repeated impatiently.

"Come on, let's go," she said to Luke as soon as the doctor had left. She took his hand and pulled him out the door. Luke smiled as he followed her out the door, glad that the normal Lorelai seemed to have returned.

XXXXX

At home that afternoon, Lorelai and Luke were lying on the couch watching a movie when the phone rang. "I'll get it!" Lorelai cried.

"Sit," Luke ordered. "You're supposed to be taking it easy, remember?"

Lorelai pouted. "I hardly think answering the phone qualifies as strenuous activity," she said as Luke answered the phone.

"Um, let me see if I can find her," Luke said into the phone. Lorelai frowned and held out her hand to take the phone, and Luke held it away from her. "It's your mother," he whispered.

Lorelai swallowed hard, then shook her head. "Tell her I'll call her back later," she said.

"Emily? Lorelai's resting right now, but I'll have her call you later tonight…All right," Luke hung up the phone and looked down at Lorelai. "You okay?" he asked.

Lorelai nodded slowly. "Yeah," she said. "I just…I wish that I could talk to her, but I'm afraid that will upset me and hurt the baby."

"Maybe if you tell her that you don't want to fight, you just want to talk things will be different," Luke suggested.

"Maybe," Lorelai said. "I wish that I had a normal family."

Luke sat down next to her and put an arm around her. "Are you hungry?" he asked after a few minutes.

Lorelai shook her head. "No," she said. "I think I'm going to go soak in a bath for a little while."

"Good idea," Luke said. "That should calm you down a little bit."

Lorelai kissed him softly on the lips before she stood up and started walking towards the stairs. As he watched her climb the stairs, he could tell that something wasn't quite right with her, but he didn't want to push. Hopefully whatever she was thinking wasn't a big deal, and she would talk to him about it eventually.


	25. New House

**I hope you guys like this chapter, let me know what you think!**

It's been a month since Lorelai was released from the hospital, and things in the Gilmore-Danes household were changing, slowly but surely. The baby was developing more every day, and Lorelai's stomach was becoming more obvious. Rory had moved back in and gotten a job at the bookstore with Andrew and was also working as a manager to Lane's band.

Luke had tried to spend as much time at possible at home, as he was becoming increasingly worried about Lorelai. As her pregnancy progressed, she seemed to be the same on the outside, but he could tell that there was something wrong with her.

On the surface, everything was normal; she would kiss him good bye in the morning, and good night before she went to bed. But there were little things that were bothering him. When they sat on the couch to watch TV she didn't snuggle into him anymore, she kept her back towards him when she slept, and her visits to the diner in the middle of the day were becoming less frequent.

Luke knew that none of these things were a big deal, but all together they were beginning to worry him, and she slipped further and further away from him every day.

He sighed as he walked into the storage room to get some more ketchup, then walked back into the diner. It was the usual break between breakfast and lunch, and he noticed the quiet. Usually Lorelai would be here, talking his ear off and keeping him company in the empty diner. But today she hadn't come. Like so many other days, he knew that she would say that she got caught up at work, but he would question that and wonder if there was something that he had done wrong to upset her.

He turned around in surprise when he heard the bells on the door open. He grinned when he saw Lorelai standing before him.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi," Lorelai replied, seemingly in a cheerful mood. "I didn't see you this morning, so I figured I'd come see how you are."

"I'm glad you did," Luke said as he came around the counter and kissed her softly. "I had early deliveries, I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"No," Lorelai said.

"Good," Luke said. "Do you want breakfast?"

"Actually I already ate," Lorelai said. "But I was wondering…if there was any chance that we could go for a walk or something and talk."

Luke narrowed his eyes at her for a moment before he nodded. "Sure," he said. "Let me just tell Casear to hold down the fort."

Lorelai nodded as she slid onto a stool to wait for him to come back. A moment later, Luke came out from the kitchen and smiled at Lorelai. "Ready?" he said as he reached out to put a hand on the small of her back.

Lorelai slid out of his grasp and reached for the door. "Yeah," she said.

Luke swallowed hard, trying not to lose control as he followed Lorelai onto the street. He looked over at her, and saw that she was resting both of her hands protectively on her stomach, so there was no way that he could reach out and take her hand easily.

After a few minutes, Luke and Lorelai ended up walking into the gazebo and sitting down. Lorelai stared out across the green, facing away from Luke. After a long moment, he cleared his throat and asked, "Uh, was there something specific that you wanted to talk about?"

Lorelai turned her head to face him, and he was shocked to see tears running down her face. "Lorelai?" he asked. "What's wrong?" he pulled her into his arms, and the simple gesture made her tears come even harder, and she began to sob against his chest. Luke held her tightly, giving her time to calm down before she could tell him what was wrong.

Several minutes later, Lorelai finally pulled back and wiped at her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said softly.

Luke tilted her chin up to look into her eyes. "What's going on?" he asked gently. "Lorelai, something's been going on with you for weeks, and I've tried to be patient so you can tell me what's wrong. But I hate seeing you cry, so please, just tell me. Did I do something wrong? I don't think I did, but if I upset you in any way, I'm sorry…"

"You didn't do anything wrong," Lorelai whispered. "I just…ever since I was in the hospital, I've felt like…I don't know, that things are different between us."

"Me too," Luke said softly. "Do you know why that is?"

"You never hold my hand, or lay with me in bed," Lorelai continued. "And when I tried to get in the shower with you last week you hopped right out."

"Oh, Lorelai," Luke said softly. "You were thinking that I didn't want you?"

Hearing the words come from his mouth made Lorelai sob again, and she nodded through her tears. Luke swallowed hard, wondering what he could do to make her feel better. According to his book, it was best to let her calm down before he reasoned with her, but he couldn't leaver her crying and thinking that he didn't love her.

"We've been through this before, Lorelai," Luke said softly. "You know that I'll love you no matter what."

"Right," Lorelai scoffed. "Until I nearly kill your baby."

"What?" Luke was aghast that she even thought that. "Lorelai, I never blamed you for what happened. It wasn't anyone's fault, it was just the baby's way of telling you to calm down so he could be happier. He's already a smart little guy."

Lorelai sniffled as she looked up at him. "You never thought it was my fault?" she asked softly.

"No," Luke said as he took her face into his hands. "And I'm sorry that you've been going all these weeks thinking that I did. I've missed you."

"I've been right here," Lorelai said softly.

"I missed the real you," Luke said. "And I hope you're coming back to stay."

Lorelai smiled softly. "Well, I can't make any promises," she said with a slight laugh.

Luke leaned forward and kissed her deeply. Lorelai smiled against his lips before she took control and deepened the kiss. A moment later she pulled back with a gasp.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked in a panic.

"Nothing," Lorelai replied. "Here." She took his hand and guided it to her belly. Luke rested it there for a moment before he felt it.

"Is that the baby?" he asked in disbelief.

Lorelai nodded with a grin. "Yeah," she said. "I've felt it move before, but it felt more like butterflies or something. This is the first time I've felt him really move."

"That's so amazing," Luke whispered. "I still can't believe this."

Lorelai leaned forward and stroked his cheek. "It's true, babe," she said. "And if you still don't believe it, in about four months in the delivery room, you'll know."

Luke smiled and pulled Lorelai up to her feet. "Come on," he said. "We're taking the rest of the day off. We've been through a lot the last month, and we need to spend some quality time together."

Lorelai smiled as they began to walk across the green to the jeep.

XXXXX

When they arrived at their house, Lorelai sighed as she collapsed onto the couch. "So, what are we going to do today on our wonderful day off together?" she asked Luke.

Luke smiled as he slid onto the couch behind Lorelai. He wrapped his arms around her and placed his hands on her belly. "I don't know," he said. "I just want to hold you."

Lorelai settled deeper into the warmth of her husband's arms. "God, I love the way I feel in your arms," she mumbled.

Luke stroked a hand over her belly. "Does it hurt?" he asked.

"What?" Lorelai asked.

"Having a baby," Luke replied. "Giving birth."

Lorelai sighed. "Yes," she said. "I gave birth to Rory in the delivery room surrounded by doctors and nurses. I'd never felt more alone in my life. But as soon as they handed her to me, I knew that I wasn't alone anymore. No matter what, I knew that this little girl would be my entire life."

"You did it," Luke said. "By yourself. And this time I'll be there with you."

"This time is so different," Lorelai said. "There was so much going on in my pregnancy with Rory, and now there was only the Braxton Hicks, and they're gone now."

"You mean the whole teenage pregnancy thing?" Luke asked.

"Well, there was that," Lorelai said. "But physically, giving birth at sixteen is a huge risk. There was a point in the beginning where they told me that I was having twins. I never told Christopher or my parents, and at the next appointment they told me that they were wrong. But the doctors were always concerned about how giving birth would effect me. I went through I little bit of postpartum depression."

"How come you never told me this?" Luke asked softly.

Lorelai shrugged. "I never told anyone," she said. "I was never officially diagnosed or anything, but there were times that I would just sit in my room and cry for no reason. But then I would look at Rory, and know that this innocent little angel needed me. I was all she had, really, and I had to be strong for her."

"Is that why you ran away?"

"Yes," Lorelai replied. "I came to Stars Hollow because it seemed like everyone cared for each other no matter what. So I got off the bus and walked into the inn. To this day, I still think that Mia hired me out of pity. Can you honestly imagine me as a maid?"

Luke smiled softly as he hugged her tightly. "I'm glad you got off the bus here," he said.

"Me too," Lorelai replied. "But I wish we wouldn't have taken it so long to get it together. I mean, it took us eight years to realize what an amazing thing we have here."

"I knew," Luke said softly. "When you gave me that horoscope…I was just captivated by you."

Lorelai turned so that she could look at him. "You loved me all that time?" she asked.

"Not…loved," Luke said, choosing his words carefully. "I had strong feelings for you, feelings I've never felt for anyone. But they didn't even compare to what it was like to actually be with you, to hold you and call you my wife."

"How come you never said anything?" Lorelai asked.

"I tried," Luke said. "A couple of times. When you got engaged to Max, I came over here before your date, I was going to tell you that you wanted to date you, but before I could he showed up, and then you got engaged, and I couldn't do anything about it anymore."

"I must have hurt you so badly," Lorelai said softly. "I'm sorry."

"It wasn't like you'd purposely turned me down," Luke said. "You didn't even know. But I felt like I'd lost you forever, and I never forgave myself for that."

"Luke, I called that wedding off because of you," Lorelai said softly. "When you brought that chuppah over, I knew that there was no way that I could get married to Max under it because I would be thinking of you the entire time. And then I would have probably pulled a Ross and said your name in the vows, and I realized that if I was going to be thinking about while I was getting married to another man, then it probably wasn't the smartest move to make."

"I'm glad you made that decision," Luke said. "I don't know where I would be now if you'd married him."

"There was so much time in between I broke up with Max and when we got together," Lorelai said. "Why didn't you say anything then?"

"I tried, once," Luke said. "When we painted the diner and we were sitting on the floor behind the counter, I was leaning in to kiss you when Taylor burst in."

Lorelai raised her eyes in surprise. "You nearly kissed me?" she said. "How come I don't remember this?"

"I don't know," Luke said. "But every time I tried to work up the courage to talk to you, there was Christopher, or Max again, or Jason."

Lorelai bit her lower lip. "I'm sorry," she said softly.

Luke kissed her gently. "Don't be sorry," he said. "I'm the one who gets to keep you."

"I just hate that we wasted so much time," Lorelai said. After a moment, she looked up at him and frowned. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Luke said.

"How come you were with Nicole?" Lorelai asked. "You met her a long time after I broke up with Max."

Luke sighed and leaned down to rest his forehead against her shoulder. "I dated her because I thought there was no chance between you and me. But getting married to her was the biggest mistake of my life, and I don't know why I let it happen. But if anything, I knew that when it was over with Nicole, you were the only one I wanted to be with. That's why I invited you to Liz's wedding."

"That's when I knew for the first time," Lorelai said. "I mean, you were great when I was so upset about the inn and I had a feeling about it, but that was when I really knew. I never thought that you would have danced like that."

"You wanted to," Luke said. "Even then, I would have done anything to make you happy."

"I was too blind to see it," Lorelai said. "I thought you always gave in to me just to shut me up."

"Sometimes I did," Luke teased.

Lorelai rolled her eyes and smacked him lightly on the shoulder. "Haha," she said. She leaned into him and sighed. "I'm glad that we could talk," she said. "You know what's been going on over the past month?"

"What?" Luke asked, curling a strand of her hair around his finger.

"A lack of communication," Lorelai replied. "We're married now, Luke, and we don't have to hide our feelings from each other. I'm just as guilty of it as you are, but we've got to work on it. I don't want something like this to happen every time one of us gets upset."

"I hate fighting with you thought," Luke said.

"Me too," Lorelai agreed. "But then we can have make up sex."

Luke stroked her stomach. "Not for much longer," he said. "It'll induce labor before too long."

Lorelai made a face. "You're right," she said. "Maybe we should have as much sex as possible in the next few weeks to make up for all the time that we won't be able to do it."

"Sounds good to me," Luke said as he lowered his lips to her neck.

Lorelai leaned back onto the couch and was pulling Luke on top of her when they heard the door open. "Hey, I'm home!" Rory cried.

Luke pulled back from Lorelai quickly, and she sat up from the arm of the couch to smile at Rory. "Hi, hon," she said.

"Hi," Rory said. "How come you're home, Dad?" she asked.

"I needed to talk to your mom about something," Luke replied.

Rory watched as Lorelai smiled and leaned into Luke. "So you guys sorted out whatever was going on between you?" she asked hopefully.

Luke and Lorelai exchanged a look. "Yes," Lorelai said. "You noticed?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "Mom, it wasn't exactly rocket science," she said. "You were both so miserable since you got back from the hospital. I'm glad it's worked out."

Lorelai smiled. "Thanks, babe," she said. She held out her hand to Rory. "Come here, I want to show you something cool."

Rory stepped forward and held out her hand. Lorelai placed it on her stomach and held it there for a moment. Rory frowned. "Mom, why am I touching your stomach?" she asked.

"Just wait a second," Lorelai said. After a moment the baby kicked and Rory jumped back with a shriek, causing Lorelai and Luke to laugh.

"Is that him?" Rory asked a moment later.

"Yeah," Lorelai replied. "Your little brother's decided to start moving around, which means I probably wont get a good night's sleep now until he's about five."

"I wasn't that bad, was I?" Rory asked.

"Please," Lorelai scoffed. "You were horrible. If there was a bird outside your window you freaked out and had to come sleep in my bed."

Rory sighed. "I suppose you're right," she said. "But we had some of our best bonding time cuddling in your bed in the potting shed."

Lorelai smiled fondly as she remembered. "I know," she said. "As hard as those times were, I wouldn't trade them."

"Me neither," Rory replied as she sat down in the chair across from the couch. "Did I ever say thank you for taking me away from Grandma and Grandpa's? Because I can't imagine how different things would have been if you hadn't."

"I know," Lorelai said with a nod. "But Luke and I have taken enough trips down memory lane today. What do you say about lunch?"

Rory's eyes lit up. "Yeah!" she cried. "Where should we go?"

"How about Teryaki Joe's?" Lorelai suggested.

"Why not the diner?" Luke asked.

"We eat there all the time," Lorelai said.

"Yeah, and since you're here, there's no point in us ordering from the diner," Rory added.

"The diner doesn't deliver."

"You always did for us," Lorelai said.

"Cause you were in love with Mom."

Luke sighed. "Guilty," he said as he smiled at Lorelai. "All right, let's go get some lunch."

Lorelai grinned as Luke took her hands and pulled her to her feet. Rory walked into her room for a moment, and Lorelai took advantage of the opportunity to kiss Luke passionately. "I promise," she whispered in his ear when they'd broken apart. "That I will make up for all the times that could have been between us."

Luke leaned forward and kissed her gently. "You've already done that," he said softly. "And so much more."

Before Lorelai could respond, Rory came out of her room and rolled her eyes. "Can't you two take your hands off of each other for a second?" she asked. "There are young, impressionable children in the room."

Lorelai laughed as she let go of Luke. "Hun, I hate to break it to you, but you're twenty one," she said. "That means you're no longer a child, and you haven't been impressionable since you were about three years old."

"Well, that doesn't mean that I should be able to watch my parents make out all the time," Rory replied. "Seriously, that could do some pretty damaging things."

"We're just making up for lost time," Lorelai replied. She turned to Luke and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the door. "Come on, Lukey, your son and I are hungry."

Luke rolled his eyes as he and Rory followed Lorelai out of the house.

XXXX

After they'd ordered, Rory looked across the table and smiled at her parents. "So, can I ask you guys something?" she asked gingerly.

"Sure," Lorelai said. "What's up, babe?"

"Well, I was just wondering where the baby's going to go," Rory said. "I don't know what you guys have talked about, but there isn't a whole lot of room, and you can't have him living in your room forever."

Luke and Lorelai exchanged looks before Luke replied, "We decided that we're going to talk to Tom and see if he has any suggestions of how we can make an extra room on the house somehow."

Rory nodded. "I was just wondering, because I heard at work this morning that Old Man Twickham died this morning," she said.

"Aw, that's too bad," Lorelai said. "He's been sick ever since we moved here."

"What does this have to do with the baby?" Luke asked.

"Well, Taylor already has plans to make the house into a Stars Hollow Museum," Rory said. "But it's still on the market."

Lorelai and Luke looked at each other. "You want us to move?" Lorelai asked.

"Well, I don't want you to not move because you think that I'm attached to the house or anything," Rory said. "I know you, Mom, and I do love our house. But you and Luke are having a baby, and I want my little brother to be comfortable. Our family means more to me than the house."

Lorelai eyed Rory suspiciously. "Why do I think that there's more to the story than you're telling me?" she asked.

Rory stared at her mother for a moment. "Well, I might know of someone possibly putting a down payment on the house for you," she said cautiously.

"Who would buy us a house?" Luke asked. "We weren't planning on moving."

"Rory," Lorelai said. "Does this have something to do with your grandparents?"

Rory didn't say anything, and Lorelai rolled her eyes as she stood up. "Where are you going?" Luke asked.

"To give Emily Gilmore a piece of my mind," Lorelai replied. "Where does she get off thinking that she can just buy us a house and make everything up to me? I don't think so."

"Lorelai, you have to calm down," Luke said. "This isn't good for the baby."

Lorelai took a deep breath. "You're right," she said. "But I need to talk to her," she said. "I'll be careful, I promise."

"All right," Luke said cautiously. "But I'm going with you."

"Me too," Rory said.

"I don't need supervision," Lorelai said. "If I kill her, I'll confess."

Luke rolled his eyes. "I just thought that if they're buying us a house, I should be there for this discussion."

Lorelai looked at him for a moment before she nodded and walked out of the restaurant without a word. Luke let out a nervous breath as he and Rory followed Lorelai out to the car. This was going to be an interesting evening to say the least.

**If anyone wants an input on what will happen in the next chapter, let me know!**


	26. Dinner

**Hope you guys enjoy!**

When they pulled up in front of the Gilmore mansion, Lorelai tried to open the door before Luke had even put the car in park. He reached out and grabbed her hand, and she turned to look at him. "What?" she asked impatiently.

"Lorelai, you need to calm down," he replied. "I know that you're upset, but you can't get into another screaming fight with your mother. Think about what happened last time."

Lorelai nodded. "Don't worry, Luke," she said softly. "I won't let anything happen to the baby."

"Just be careful," Luke insisted. "I don't want anything to happen to you either."

Lorelai squeezed his hand and smiled at him before she opened the door and got out of the car. Luke and Rory followed her as she walked quickly towards the front door. When the maid answered the door, Lorelai smiled politely and said, "We're here to see Richard and Emily."

"May I ask who's visiting?" the maid asked.

"Her daughter," Lorelai replied.

"Thank you, Elsa, I will see them to the living room," Emily said as she walked into the foyer.

"You bought us a house?" Lorelai asked.

Emily looked at Lorelai carefully for a moment. "Lorelai, is that all you have to say to me?" she asked.

"What?" Lorelai asked in confusion.

"You never called me after you were in the hospital," Emily said softly. "Your father and I were very worried."

Lorelai suddenly felt bad. "I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "It was just Braxton Hicks contractions, there wasn't really anything wrong. But I have to take it easy for the rest of the pregnancy."

Emily nodded. "Well, I'm glad that everything's okay," she said She walked into the living room and sat down on the couch, pouring herself a cup of tea. "Come in, I want to have a nice visit with you," she said. "All three of you."

Lorelai looked over her shoulder to exchange a glance with Rory and Luke. She turned around and walked into the living room, tentatively taking a seat across from her mother. Luke sat down next to her and reached for her hand, and Rory sat down next to Emily.

"So, what's the reason for this pleasant surprise?" Emily asked with a smile.

"Uh, well, Mom, Taylor called me today," Lorelai lied. "And he told me that you and Dad had put a down payment on the old Twickham house is Stars Hollow."

Emily frowned. "That's odd," she said. "We specifically told that man that he wasn't to tell anyone."

"Mom…We just wanted to know why you and Dad did that," Lorelai pushed ahead in the conversation. "I mean, we appreciate it and everything, but why would you think that we would need a new house?"

"You don't have enough room in the house you're living in now to raise a baby, Lorelai," Emily replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Unless, of course, you're planning on giving the baby Rory's room."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Mom, of course I'm not going to give up Rory's room," she said. "That's her room and it always will be. We're planning on renovating the house."

"Aren't you supposed to be on bed rest?" Emily pressed.

Lorelai took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Not bedrest, Mother, just taking it easy," she said. "Which, at the moment, is rather difficult."

"Then you can't renovate your house," Emily replied. "So moving is the most sensible action to take."

Luke could see that Lorelai was about to lose it, so he squeezed her hand as he said, "Emily, Lorelai and I have discussed this," he said. "And we decided that moving would probably be more stressful for Lorelai, and we don't want to leave our house. We've thought all of this through very carefully, and we even have plans to add additional bedrooms to the top floor of the house."

Lorelai smiled gratefully at Luke, then turned to her mother. "It's not that we don't appreciate this, Mom, we do. We just…we're adults, and we have our own life. We don't need you and Dad to control our every move, and if we want you're help, we won't hesitate to ask for it. I asked for help with Rory's school, didn't I?"

Emily sighed. "Lorelai, your father and I wanted to do something for you and your family," she said. "But if you don't want a house, perhaps you will consider letting us pay for your renovations."

"Mom, that's not-" Lorelai started.

"Consider it a wedding present," Emily replied. "Or a baby present. Please, Lorelai, we want to do this for you."

Lorelai looked at Luke for a moment, who shrugged and nodded his head slightly. She squeezed his hand. "Thanks, Mom," she said. "We'd really like that."

Emily smiled. "Wonderful," she said. "I'll have your father call to get the check for the house back, and tomorrow morning I'll call my interior designer…"

"Whoa, Mom," Lorelai said. "We already have a contractor," she said. "They've taken estimates and everything. So you can be involved, but we're going to make all the decisions. Okay?"

Emily stared at Lorelai for a moment before she nodded. "All right," she said.

"Good," Lorelai replied. There was an awkward silence before Rory said, "Uh, Grandma, maybe you and Grandpa would like to come over to our house for Friday Night Dinner this week."

Lorelai looked at Rory for a moment before she forced a smile and turned to Emily. "Yeah, Mom," she said. "You should really join us."

"Well, that would be lovely," Emily replied. "I'll have to check with your father, of course."

"Of course," Lorelai replied. "Well, I have to get back to the inn and Luke should check at the diner, so we have to get going."

Emily stood and walked with the three of them to the door. "I'm happy for you, Lorelai," she said. "I know I haven't made anything particularly easy for you, but you deserve to be happy."

Lorelai looked surprised. "Thanks, Mom," she said. "I'll give you a call about dinner."

Emily nodded as she opened the door and walked out with them. Lorelai climbed into the passenger seat of the car as Luke slid the front seat forward to allow Rory to get into the back. As he started the car and pulled out of the driveway, Luke looked over at Lorelai and asked, "You okay?"

"Fine," Lorelai replied, not taking her gaze off of her window.

"I think that went well," Luke said. "She seemed better than usual."

"Yeah," Lorelai replied.

Luke sighed. He knew what was bothering her, but he knew that he shouldn't get involved in Lorelai and Rory's relationship. They had too unique a bond for anyone else to get involved, but he hated seeing her upset.

"Mom, I'm sorry," Rory said softly. "I don't know why I did that, I just slipped. Things were going so well, and I just thought it might be better for you and her to spend some time together."

"Rory, if there is one thing that I taught you when you were growing up, it's that my mother will never be nice to me just for the sake of it," Lorelai said. "She wants something back, and now she's going to come to our house and criticize everything about it."

"I'm sorry," Rory said softly. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"Yeah, me neither," Lorelai replied, turning her gaze back to the window.

The rest of the car ride was in silence, and Luke alternated between stealing glances at Lorelai and Rory, both of whom were staring out the window and pouting.

XXXXX

When Luke pulled into the driveway, Lorelai got out of the car and walked into the house without waiting for either Luke or Rory. She closed the door behind her, and a few moments later they saw the light in her and Luke's room switch on.

Rory sighed as she walked with Luke to the house. As she walked in before him and collapsed onto the couch, Luke said, "Don't worry about this too much. She goes up and down lately."

"I know," Rory replied. "She just…we hardly ever fight, but when we do, it's so bad. And I guess I wasn't thinking, but she has every right to be mad at me."

Luke could see that she was still upset, so he leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "She'll snap out of it," he said. "Believe me. These days she's wanting a divorce one minute and throwing herself at me the next."

Rory smiled slightly. "I guess all of those pregnancy stereotypes are true," she said.

Luke shrugged. "I haven't caught her eating pickles and ice cream yet," he replied. Rory smiled, and he said, "I'm gonna go check on her. You sure that you're okay?"

Rory nodded. "Yeah, just feeling stupid."

"You're not stupid," Luke insisted as he walked up the stairs. He opened the door to his bedroom and poked his head in. Lorelai was lying on the bed with her back facing him. He knew that she wasn't sleeping, so he closed the door behind him and sat down on the bed. Placing a hand on her back, he leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Lorelai," he said softly.

"Go away," Lorelai replied. "I want to be alone."

Luke sighed. "I just want to make sure you're okay," he replied.

"I'm fine," Lorelai replied. "I just want to take a nap. By myself."

"Alright," Luke said. "I'm going to go to the diner for a couple of hours. I hope you feel better when I get back."

He leaned down and kissed her cheek gently, and Lorelai clutched her pillow even tighter. Luke left the room and Lorelai sighed, rubbing a hand over her stomach. "Are you going to be like your sister?" she asked gently. "I hope you are. Because even though I get mad at her every once in awhile, she's my best friend. And I wouldn't know what to do without her, so I hope you're going to be just like her. Well, a boy version of her, of course."

Lorelai looked up when she heard the door creak open. "Mom?" Rory asked tentatively.

Lorelai sighed. "Come on in," she said.

Rory entered the room and slid onto the bed next to her mother. She rested her head on her shoulder and wrapped her arms around one of Lorelai's. "I'm sorry," she said softly.

Lorelai turned to look at her daughter and could see traces of tears still on her face. She sighed. "No, Rory, it's okay," she said. "I just was so surprised, and it wasn't exactly something that I would have done, but I don't mind that much."

"I shouldn't have invited her," Rory said. "I wasn't thinking."

Lorelai leaned over and kissed Rory's forehead. "I love you, Rory," she said. "I just got a little mad. But I'll never ever stop loving you."

Rory nodded. "I love you too," she whispered.

Lorelai sighed as she settled into the pillows. "I was just having a conversation with your brother," she said. "And I was telling him how I hope he's just like you."

Rory smiled. "Don't pressure him too much," she said. "I just want him to be adorable. Which I know he will be. He's a Gilmore."

"And a Danes," Lorelai added. "So he's sure to be handsome."

Rory giggled. "Of course." She paused for a moment before she said, "I can call Grandma and tell her that we have plans if you want."

Lorelai shook her head. "She insisted on paying for this renovation," she said. "And I do appreciate it, because it will be a little expensive. And now I don't have to feel bad about choosing the most expensive wallpaper. But since she's doing this, we should show her that we appreciate it."

"Okay," Rory said.

They were quiet for a moment, and a moment later Rory heard Lorelai's stomach growl. She giggled and asked, "Are you hungry?"

"We never got to eat our lunch," Lorelai replied. "We should go to Luke's."

Rory nodded as they got up and walked down the stairs.

XXXXX

On Friday night, Lorelai was in the bedroom when Luke entered, a towel wrapped around his waist. She smiled as she walked over to him. "Mmm, my favorite sight in the world," she said as she wrapped her arms around him. "A sexy husband in a towel."

Luke laughed as he leaned down to kiss her. "You're feeling okay about this, right?" he asked.

Lorelai nodded. "Luke, you really need to stop worrying so much," she said. "It's making me nervous."

"Sorry," Luke said. He stroked a hand over her belly. "I just want both of you to stay safe."

"I know," Lorelai said. "And I love you for that."

She untangled herself from him and walked over to the closet. "Ugh, I need to go shopping," she said.

"Uh, no, I think you have plenty of clothes," Luke replied. "Especially according to last month's credit card bill."

"Nothing fits," Lorelai whined. "I need to buy maternity clothes."

Luke rolled his eyes. "You went shopping last week," he said. "What did you buy?"

"Stuff for after the baby's born," Lorelai replied. "I have to have new clothes to inspire me to get my amazing body back."

Luke sighed. Sometimes it was easier to not even pretend to understand what Lorelai was saying.

"Do you have something to wear tonight?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm just going to wear the skirt I wore to work today," Lorelai replied. "But I don't think it will fit again for awhile."

"Well, wear that and tomorrow I'll take you shopping," Luke replied. "Only for clothes that you can wear," he added quickly when Lorelai's eyes lit up.

Lorelai pouted as she slid into her skirt. "You're no fun," she said.

Before Luke could respond, they heard the doorbell rang. Lorelai made a face as she turned to Luke. "Do you think that it's bad for the baby if I try and climb down the tree outside our window?" she asked.

Luke rolled his eyes and he pulled his T shirt over his head. "Just go down there, I'll be down in a second," he said.

"Fine," Lorelai said. She walked over to him and gave him a quick peck before she turned and walked out the door.

When Lorelai walked down the stairs into the living room, she saw Rory and Emily sitting on the couch. "Hi, Mom," she said. "Where's Dad?"

"He's in New York on business," Emily replied. "But I hope to enjoy tonight just as well with the three of you."

Lorelai nodded. "Luke just got out of the shower," she replied. "He should be down in a minute to take dinner out of the oven."

"It smells lovely," Emily commented.

"Yeah, well, that's the main reason that we keep him around," Lorelai said. "He feeds us yummy food."

"Grandma, would you like a drink?" Rory asked, ignoring her mother.

"That would be lovely," Emily replied.

"Uh, I think we have some white wine," Lorelai said. "I'll check."

She walked into the kitchen and found the bottle of wine. As she was pouring a glass, Luke walked into the kitchen and smiled at her. "You getting a drink for your mom?" he asked.

"Yup," Lorelai replied. "How long til dinner?"

Luke opened the door to the oven to look at the chicken. "Not long," he said. "We can start with the salad now if you want to."

"Okay," Lorelai said. She set Emily's wine in front of one of the places, then walked into the living room. "Luke says that the salad's ready," she announced.

"Wonderful," Emily said as she and Rory followed Lorelai into the kitchen.

"Luke, it smells absolutely delicious," Emily said as they sat down at the table.

"Thanks," Luke said. He sat down across from Lorelai and they all began to eat their salads.

"So, Lorelai, tell me everything about this baby," Emily said, trying to make conversation.

"Well, he's pretty healthy," Lorelai replied. "I'm five and a half months along, so there's only a few months left until he gets here."

"He," Emily repeated. "You're having a boy."

Lorelai smiled across the table at Luke. "Yup," she said. "And we heard the heartbeat, he's pretty healthy. He kicks sometimes, but not a lot."

Emily nodded. "That's wonderful, Lorelai," she said.

"Thanks," Lorelai said. "We're pretty happy."

Emily was silent for a moment, but then she cleared her throat. "I want…I hope that your father and I will be involved in his growing up," she said.

Lorelai looked at her mother for a moment before she nodded. "You will be, Mom," she said. "I mean, he'll come with us to Friday Night Dinners and everything."

Emily nodded. "Good," she said.

The rest of the meal passed easily, with conversation that was pleasing to everyone. After dessert, as they all sat in the living room, Lorelai yawned and leaned her head against the back of the couch.

"Mom, are you okay?" Rory asked.

Lorelai nodded. "I'm fine, hon, just tired," she said.

"I should be going anyway," Emily said. "Lorelai, Luke, it's been a lovely evening. Thank you."

"Thanks, Mom," Lorelai said as she stood up.

"It was good seeing you, Emily," Luke said as he nodded in her direction.

"I'll walk you out, Grandma," Rory said.

Lorelai turned to Luke and smiled up at him. "I'm going to go to bed," She said.

"I'll be up after I clean the kitchen," Luke said.

Lorelai pouted. "Luke, can't you just leave them there until tomorrow morning?" she asked. "I hate going to bed alone."

Luke smiled as he took Lorelai's outstretched hand and followed her upstairs to her bedroom. After they had each taken a turn in the bathroom, Luke slid into bed next to Lorelai, who was already comfortable under the covers. He smiled as he leaned in to kiss her gently.

"I love you," Lorelai whispered when he pulled back.

"I love you too," Luke replied. He sighed as he leaned back against the headboard. "That wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been," he commented.

Lorelai nodded in agreement. "I just hope that she doesn't try to take over the plans," she said.

"Well, we have everything all set," Luke replied. "So we'll tell her that everything's the way that we want it and she can't change it."

Lorelai sat up. "But we haven't talked about anything about the renovation yet," she said.

Luke paused for a moment, then cleared his throat as he slid out of bed. "Well, I know that it was kind of forward of me, and I probably should have talked to you first," he started as he pulled some pieces of paper out of the top drawer of his dresser. "But I met with Tom and we came up with some rough ideas for the renovation. If you don't like it, we can change them. There's nothing that's set."

"Wow," Lorelai said as she sat up and took the papers. "Uh, I don't understand what any of this means," she said, referring to Tom's handwriting.

Luke laughed as he sat down next to her. "Basically what we were trying to do is put another bedroom on the other side of our wall so that the baby can have his own room but we'll be near when he cries," he said. "And I was also thinking that we could redo our bedroom."

"Make it less girly?" Lorelai asked with a smirk.

"No," Luke replied. "Tom said he could put another bathroom in here so we could have our own. And we could add another closet and just have more room for both of us."

Lorelai leaned in and kissed him gently. "I love it," she said. "I think it's perfect."

Luke cleared his throat before he said, "Well, I was also thinking that we could add at least one more bedroom."

"What, like a guest room?" Lorelai asked. "We've never really had overnight guests before, but now that you live here I guess it's a good idea because Liz and TJ will probably come visit…"

"Lorelai," Luke interrupted her. "I was thinking…they could be guest rooms for now, but I was thinking that eventually they could become bedrooms for our kids."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Kids?" she asked. "As in, you want to have more after this one?"

"Well, not if you don't," Luke replied. "I'd never force you into doing anything that you didn't want to."

"Wow," Lorelai said. "I guess I've just never really thought about it having kids after this one."

"You don't have to decide right now," Luke said. "I mean, it would be a couple of years before it could happen anyways."

"Yeah," Lorelai said. She was quiet for a moment before she said softly, "Luke?"

"Yeah?" Luke replied.

"I think I'll want," she whispered.

Luke grinned. "Really?" he asked.

Lorelai smiled as she leaned against him. "Yeah," she replied. "I love you."

"I love you too," Luke replied as he kissed her on the forehead. "Go to sleep."

"Mmhmm," Lorelai mumbled, already asleep. Luke smiled as he slid them lower under the covers and closed his eyes, feeling satisfied and happy with his life.

**Let me know what you thought!**


	27. Shopping

**Okay, I know if anyone's even reading this, you're thinking that I'm a horrible person for not updating in the past 800 years. Things are starting to calm down in my life now, so I should be able to start updating semi-regularly again. If there's anyone out there who's still interested in the story, please let me know so it's worth continuing. Thank you so much for your support! Also, I reposted this chapter so it made a little more sense with the story. Enjoy!**

The next morning, Luke felt someone poking him in the back. He cracked his eyes open to look at the clock and saw that it was only six thirty. Figuring he was imagining things, he closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep.

Until he felt the tapping again.

"Luke?" Lorelai whispered. "Wake up."

Luke immediately sat up. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"You're not up yet."

Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "You woke me up to tell me that I was asleep?" he asked.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "No," she replied. "We're going shopping, remember?"

Luke groaned. "Lorelai, it's six thirty in the morning," he said. "The stores don't even open for a couple hours."

Lorelai looked down at Luke in disbelief for a moment as he rolled over and buried his face in his pillow. "Luke!" she cried. "Come on!" When he didn't react, she sighed and leaned against her pillows for a moment. Suddenly, her eyes brightened and she moved to get out of while she started talking.

"I guess I'll just go by myself," she started. Luke grunted his approval, and she continued. "While I'm at the mall, I might as well pick up some stuff for the baby."

Luke peeked out from under his pillow, and Lorelai knew that she had him. "The baby?" he mumbled.

Lorelai nodded casually as she walked towards the closet. "Yeah," she replied. "I mean, he'll be here in five months, and it takes a long time to get things ready. We have to get wallpaper, decorate the nursery, buy a crib and put it together, get a stroller, clothes, toys…I just think it's a good idea to start now."

Luke stared at her for a moment before he sighed. "You're just doing this because you know that it would make me want to go with you, aren't you?" he asked.

Lorelai turned from the closet and faked a gasp. "Luke Danes, I'm surprised that you would assume something so horrible about me!" she cried. "I, your wife, the woman who's carrying your baby, am just trying to make sure that everything is perfect for your son when he gets here."

Luke rolled his eyes as he slid out of bed and reached for his jeans. "Lorelai, I know that's what you're doing," he said. He turned to look at her, dressed only in her jeans and a bra, and took a step closer. "And the fact that you can talk me into doing anything you want me to is going to be the end of the Luke Danes that is known to the world."

"So you're going to come with me?" Lorelai asked hopefully, looking up at him.

"Yes," Luke replied with a sigh.

"Yea!" Lorelai cried. "Thanks!" she leaned up and kissed him before she turned back to the closet and began to search for a shirt.

XXXXXX

Half an hour later, Luke walked down the stairs, stifling a yawn. Lorelai was standing at the front door, keys in hand and purse over her shoulder, tapping her foot impatiently. "All right I'm ready, let's go," Luke said, walking towards the front door.

"Yay!" Lorelai cried as she followed him out the door. Luke drove to the mall, only half listening to Lorelai's endless lists about what they needed to buy and how she hoped that maternity clothes weren't as hideous as they were in the eighties.

"What do you think?" Lorelai asked Luke when they were almost there.

"Whatever you want," Luke replied automatically.

Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him. "So you think that we should add a personal Starbucks off the kitchen?" she asked.

"What?" Luke asked, obviously confused. She'd been talking about shopping; but leave it to Lorelai to jump from shopping for maternity clothes to her access to coffee.

"You weren't even listening, were you?" Lorelai accused. "Why do I even bother talking about these things?"

"Beats me," Luke replied. "You know how much I know about maternity clothes and malls."

Lorelai looked at him for a moment before she leaned back against the seat. "I guess you're right," she said.

Luke reached out and took her hand. "If you really want to talk about the house, I promise I'll listen," he said.

Lorelai laughed. "Sure, anything to do with building and you're in," she said. "You're such a manly man."

"And proud of it," Luke replied.

A few minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot of the mall, and Lorelai immediately grabbed Luke's hand, pulling him towards the baby store. Luke had originally thought that shopping with Lorelai was bad, but that was before she had gotten pregnant. Now all she did was complain about her feet and her back, she had to pee every ten minutes, and she had to stop at every soft pretzel and ice cream stand because she got cravings.

But she refused to leave.

After an hour of looking at clothes, Luke finally said, "Do you think we should look at something besides clothes?"

Lorelai slowly put down the blue jumper she had been holding up, which Luke could see no difference from the previous blue jumper, and turned to Luke. "Luke, our son needs to have clothes," she said. "I can't bring him home from the hospital with only one outfit."

Luke cursed himself, knowing that any moment the hormones were going to start kicking in and she would burst into tears. At least no one would think it was unusual; he'd already witnessed two other women bursting into tears and yelling at their husbands. If Lorelai was going to have another mood swing, at least this was the place to do it.

"Lorelai," he said gently, stepping forward and taking her hands in his. "I just meant that there are other things we need to think about too. Cribs and car seats and toys and mobiles…we have enough clothes for now, and I'm sure that Rory and Sookie and Liz will want to go shopping with you for more."

Lorelai sniffled and nodded. "I guess you're right," she said softly. "I just…when Rory was little I couldn't afford to buy her very much stuff, and I want our baby to know that he can have anything that he wants."

Luke leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Lorelai's forehead. "Rory turned out to be an amazing woman," he said softly. "As much as I hate thinking of her as a woman…she's an amazing one. And that's because you raised her, not the amount of clothes that she had."

"Thank you," Lorelai whispered as she leaned up to kiss him.

Luke grabbed the basket with one hand and her hand with the other as they began walking towards the crib section. "Why don't we go get some lunch after we pick out a crib?" he suggested. "Then we can come back later to do the rest."

Lorelai squeezed his hand. "Okay," she said. "I'm getting pretty tired. I never thought that I would get sick of shopping. The baby must have your genes."

They stopped in front of the crib aisle and Luke thought for a moment that he was having a heart attack. He had never imagined that there could be so many different kinds of cribs. The color, size, whether it was on wheels, how the sides came up…all the different features created thousands of cribs to choose from.

"What the hell is this?" Luke grumbled as they tentatively stepped into the aisle.

Lorelai was just as stunned. "Look at this," she said. "It has a built in mobile and baby monitor. Who could possibly need something like that?"

Luke swallowed hard, then turned to Lorelai. "Lorelai, um, listen," he said. "I've kind of been thinking…what if I make the furniture for the baby's room?"

Lorelai opened her mouth to protest, but immediately closed it. She knew that Luke was a good handyman, and he had built her that chuppah years ago that was still in perfect condition. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"I would much rather do that than buy one of these things," Luke said. "And then we'll know that it's safe."

"Are you sure you can make it sturdy enough?" she asked. "I mean, I know that you made me that chuppah and it's beautiful, I love it. But the crib will have to hold our baby."

"I'll make sure of it," he replied. "And if it doesn't work out, then we can come back here."

Lorelai looked up at him and realized that he really wanted to be able to do this for their child. She smiled and nodded. "Okay," she said. "I think that's so sweet."

Luke tried with all his might to keep from rolling his eyes as Lorelai's eyes started to well up with tears once again. He wasn't used to Lorelai being this emotional; usually he had to use the jaws of life just to get her to tell him what was bothering her.

"Hey, it's okay," he said softly, wrapping his arm around her. "Come on, let's get home, and then maybe we can do this later online, so it won't be as hard on you."

Lorelai sniffled as she looked up at him. "Why are you so good to me?" she asked softly.

Luke let out a small laugh. "What?" he asked.

"I mean, I bugged you constantly about coming shopping with me," Lorelai said. "And now we didn't even get anything. Normally you would be mad, if it was anyone else."

Luke smiled as he draped his arm around her shoulder. "I don't love anyone else like I love you," he replied. "And no one else is carrying my baby. I just want to make sure that you're comfortable, Lorelai, and I'll do whatever I can to make that happen."

Lorelai smiled up at him. She kissed his cheek, then rested her head on his shoulder as they started walking out to the car. "I didn't get any clothes," she commented.

"That's okay," Luke replied. "I'm sure Rory and Sookie will be willing to pick some stuff out for you."

Lorelai laughed. "Yes, I'm sure they would," she agreed.

On the car ride home, Lorelai was unusually quiet, and even when Luke reached over and squeezed her hand, all she had to offer him was a small smile before she returned her gaze to outside her window. Luke kept quiet, knowing that if he asked what was wrong, she would just get mad at him. So instead he kept quiet, knowing that she would tell him what was wrong when she was good and ready.

When they got home, Lorelai immediately went to the stairs without a word. Luke watched her slowly climb to the top for a moment before he asked, "Where are you going?"

"I'm tired," Lorelai replied. "I'm going to lie down."

"Okay," Luke said softly. "I'll make you some dinner and bring it up to you when you wake up."

Lorelai didn't respond and he narrowed his eyes, hoping that there was nothing wrong with the baby that she wasn't telling him about. With a sigh, he walked into the kitchen to begin making dinner.

Two hours later, Luke peeked into their bedroom and saw Lorelai sound asleep on her side, facing away from him. He walked in and sat down carefully on the edge of the bed, brushing some of her hair out of the way. He swallowed hard as he looked down at her rounded belly where his son was resting. She'd never know how amazing it was to him that she was carrying his child, willing to give him the greatest gift in the world.

Lorelai stirred slightly, then turned and saw him looking down at her. She smiled slightly, still in a sleep induced fog. "Hi," she said. "What are you doing?"

"Looking at you," Luke replied, leaning down to kiss her forehead gently. "Lorelai, do you have any idea how amazing you are?"

Lorelai smiled as she reached a hand up to stroke his cheek. "I think being a daddy has made you a big softy," she said softly. "You used to be mean and grumpy."

"When I didn't have you," Luke replied. "Now I do and I'm happy."

Lorelai pulled his down for a kiss, then pulled back after a moment. "Is dinner ready?" she asked.

Luke laughed as he helped her to her feet. "The really important things, huh?" he asked.

"Hey, your son is hungry," Lorelai replied.

"Well, since it is for my son…" Luke replied as he walked with Lorelai down the stairs.

"Gee, thanks," Lorelai replied.

Luke scooped out two plates of lasagna, and they started to eat. Luke watched Lorelai as she ate, barely touching his own food. After a few minutes, Lorelai looked up at him and frowned. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Are you okay?" Luke blurted out, then immediately regretted it. He could feel a mood swing coming on.

Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"You didn't talk in the car," Luke said. "And you didn't want to shop. And sure, you're acting okay now, but this afternoon…I just couldn't help but think that there was something wrong with you or the baby that you weren't telling me about."

Lorelai set her fork on her plate and stood up. "Is that what you think of me?" she asked. "That if there was something wrong with your child I wouldn't even tell you?"

Luke stood as well and tried to take her hands. "That's not what I meant," he said. "I just want to make sure that you're okay. I mean, you haven't really been yourself lately."

"Well, Luke, that's because I'm not myself anymore," Lorelai snapped before she turned and began walking towards the stairs.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Luke asked, following her and grabbing her hand, forcing her to stay on the main floor and talk to him.

"Thanks to you, I'm carrying a baby," Lorelai replied. "And that makes me fat, and tired, and crabby, and emotional. And that's not me. So I'm sorry if you don't love me anymore, because I can't help that I'm not myself. If anything, it's your fault."

Luke was so stunned, that he dropped Lorelai's hands. "Is that what you think?" he asked softly. "That I don't love you?"

"I'm not the same person that you fell in love with," Lorelai replied sadly. "So I understand if you don't love me anymore."

Luke stepped closer to her and cupped her face in his hands. "I don't ever want to hear you say that ever again," he said. "Lorelai, I am completely and totally in love with you. There's no one else in the world that I would want to call my wife, and there is certainly no other mother for my child. I love you with every cell in my body and that will never, ever change. Do you understand that?"

Lorelai looked up at him with wide eyes. She knew that he was telling her the truth, and she felt the tears coming to her eyes. "I do," she said softly. "I do know that. I don't know why I keep doing this, Luke. I don't even know me anymore."

Luke wrapped his arms around Lorelai and she leaned into him, sobbing for a long moment. She finally looked up at him and smiled softly. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "You hate crying and emotions."

"Lorelai, I need you to understand something," Luke replied, leading her over to the couch. He sat her down, then sat down on the coffee table in front of her, looking into her eyes intensely. "You are Lorelai Gilmore, the same Lorelai Gilmore that you've always been, the same Lorelai Gilmore that I fell in love with ten years ago. And now things are changing, yes, but that's only because you're proving yourself to be the most amazing woman in the world. You're carrying my son. I know what a big deal this is, but you're doing it, for me. You have no idea what that means to me."

Lorelai leaned forward and stroked his cheek, resting her forehead against his. "Danes," she whispered.

"What?" Luke asked, confused.

"I'm not Lorelai Gilmore anymore," she explained. "I'm Lorelai Danes."

Luke broke into a grin. "Yes, I suppose you are," he said. "And…if that's not enough to show you how much I love you, then I don't know what is."

"I do know, Luke," Lorelai replied softly. "I guess it's just these crazy hormones. Thank you for being so understanding about this."

Luke leaned forward and kissed her gently. "You don't have to thank me," he replied. He leaned down and pulled her shirt over her belly, then pressed his lips to her tightened skin. "I love you," he whispered, and Lorelai smiled down at him, knowing that he was talking to both her and the baby.

"Luke?" she asked after a moment.

"Hmm?" he asked, smoothing her shirt back over her belly and looking up at her.

"Could this be considered a fight?" she asked.

Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "What, are you keeping track of how many fights you win?" he asked. "Because I'm pretty sure that it's all of them."

"No," Lorelai replied. "Well, yes, I don win all of them, but I was thinking that if it was a fight, then we would have no choice than to properly make up…" she pulled Luke to sit next to her on the couch and began trailing kisses down his neck.

"Lorelai," he said softly. "Dinner's sitting out…oh, God."

Lorelai looked up at him with a smirk. "Didn't expect that, did you?" she asked.

"With you, I have no choice but to expect the unexpected," Luke replied, grabbing her hand. "Let's go."

Lorelai giggled as she followed him up the stairs.

XXXXXXX

Two hours later, Lorelai lay in bed, a plate of lasagna balancing on her inflated belly. Luke looked at her in amazement as she ate her fourth piece without any hesitation whatsoever.

"What?" Lorelai asked around a mouthful as she saw Luke staring at her.

"You're quite a sight," Luke replied. "It's just not something anything that I ever pictured anyone doing?"

Lorelai smiled as she swallowed the rest of her mouthful. "What?" she asked. "Me sitting in bed naked eating lasagna off my belly?"

Luke laughed as he leaned forward to lick a spot of sauce she had on the corner of her lips. "Exactly," he said, threading his fingers through hers. "I love you."

"I love you too," Lorelai replied. She ate another piece of lasagna and chewed it thoughtfully for a moment. After she swallowed, she turned to him and said, "Look, I know that you hate all of this emotion stuff. So you don't have to tell me that all the time if it makes you uncomfortable. I don't know why I freaked out earlier, but I don't want to make you say it if it makes you uncomfortable."

Luke leaned forward and kissed her gently. He looked down at their joined hands, running his thumb gently over her wedding band. "Before we got together, I never thought that I would be that kind of guy," he said. "The one who was romantic and lovey dovey. They made me sick, and every time I saw one of them, I wanted to kick him out of my diner. But now I understand why they were acting like that. Because it's how I feel about you. Lorelai, you have changed me so much, for the better. And even though you purposefully drive me crazy and mock me all the time…there's nothing in the world that could be better than this. I'm never going to stop telling you that I love you, because I'm never going to stop loving you."

Lorelai stared down at him. "Wow," she said. "We've had quite the emotion sharing day. Especially for two people who never talk about their feelings."

Luke sighed as he leaned back against the pillows. Lorelai had placed her plate on the bedside table, and he reached out to stroke her belly with his hand. "So…I was thinking about the house earlier," he said. "Tom's going to start construction next week, and I don't think it's safe for you to be around."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him. "Aren't they only going to be working during the day?" she asked. "As in the time that I should be at the Inn running things but I'm usually at the diner bothering you?"

Luke laughed slightly. "Yes," he replied. "But…you're going to need to start taking some more time off. Don't proteset, you've been getting more and more tired over the past few months. So I think that we should temporarily locate to elsewhere. This way the construction crew may be able to get the job done faster anyways."

Lorelai looked at him. "I guess you're right," she replied. "But where are we going to go?"

"The inn?"

"I've got a family reunion," Lorelai replied. "Every room is booked."

"The diner?"

"I guess," Lorelai replied. "We spent all those nights there when we were dating…it'll be like old times."

"I'll even put the TV back in there," Luke replied.

"Aww," Lorelai said. "That's so sweet."

Before Luke could respond, the phone rang. Lorelai reached to her nightstand and picked it up, then held it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Lorelai, it's your mother," Emily's voice carried through the phone loud enough for Luke to recognize it and wince in sympathy for Lorelai.

"Hi, Mom," Lorelai said. "How are you?"

"Are you coming to Friday Night Dinner this week?" Emily asked.

Lorelai sighed. "I don't know, Mom," she replied.

"Your father and I have something to talk to you about," Emily said. "We would appreciate it if you and Luke would come this week."

Lorelai looked over at Luke. "I'll have to check with Luke, but I'll get back to you," she said.

"Splendid," Emily replied before she abruptly hung up the phone.

Lorelai set her phone back on the dresser. "We're going to dinner at my parents," she informed him.

Luke sighed. "I suppose we can give them a few dinners since they're paying for our new house," he replied.

"Thank you for being so amazing," Lorelai whispered as she cuddled closer to him. "Not many people would be willing to put up with parents like mine."

"It's worth it," Luke whispered against the top of her head.


End file.
